Keep Calm and Respawn
by Konsaki
Summary: Powers are weird. Yeah, I'm stating the obvious but think about it. You've got people who shoot lasers, fly on trashcan lids, make mad science, see in the future or even mess with your mind. Me? I cheat death. Like, I've been stabbed, run over by trucks, shot by pistols and shotguns… you name it, I've probably died that way and lived to tell about it. - Taylor 'Respawn' Hebert
1. Chapter 1

Keep Calm and Respawn

A Worm Fanfiction

By: Konsaki

07 Jan 2011

I first through it was all a bad dream… No, a night terror. You know, not 'wake up screaming' but 'wake up frozen in fear, unable to breath'. Having to watch the light slowly fade from Mom's eyes after we got t-boned; that kind of terror.

This time, I was the one slowly dying.

Okay, maybe I should take a figurative step back and paint the scene for you...

It was early Friday evening, the first one of 2011 in fact. The halls of Winslow High School were dead silent, save for my own breathing, everyone else already escaped for the weekend. The evening sun shown through an open classroom door behind me, silhouetting my shadow onto the source of my disbelieving terror. The face of the closed door to my school locker.

Yes, my mother was an English Literature professor.

And yes, I know 'my school locker' is anti-climactic' but only if you don't know the context, so…

It all started after Mom died. My dad, Danny, and I were just as wrecked as the car Mom died in. Time heals all wounds is a lie, you just learn to cope with it. They say the best way to cope, though, is to be with friends and family. That would have been an outstanding plan to follow, except my dad was just a hair's breadth away from catatonic and Emma went from 'best friend' to 'worst enemy' around the same time.

Emma Barnes, Sophia Hess and Maddison Clements; the 'popular trio' of Winslow High and my tormentors for the past two years. At first, it was just catty comments and bad jokes at my expense but it all too soon moved on to 'practical jokes' and 'pranks'. Yes, I put those in quotes on purpose, because pouring paint into your backpack and textbooks isn't a 'prank' it's just plain bullying. Once the Trio learned the school would let them get away with it, it was open season on scrawny, gawky Taylor Hebert… open season on me.

That's what lead to me standing here in the empty prison of a school, sun dipping down onto the horizon behind me as I stare at the graffiti covered row of generic metal lockers in front of me.

Well, not completely, I guess, but it explains the history involved.

Winter break, covering Christmas and New Years, was amazing this year. It was almost two weeks of not having to deal with the Trio, where I could finally relax after almost 5 months of constantly having to look over my shoulder or listen to their cutting remarks. Then came the first full school week of the year and, like a mad tinker throwing an electrical switch, I became more paranoid than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Why? Because the Trio had ignored me and with each passing day, my nerves ratched up a notch. It was literally too good to be true and I knew it because they'd done this in the past and there was one general rule for this; the longer the 'ignore Taylor' lasted, the worse off the 'prank' that followed. Even prepared for it, they still got me in the end.

Wednesday I found a hiding spot, a crevice in the storage room where you had to crawl under stacked desks to get to it but it was hidden from all sight once you were there. From that spot, I hid until almost everyone left the school each day, empty halls providing the safety from my tormentors while I grabbed my things and left for home. It worked all the way until Friday afternoon.

Seems I played right into their hands.

I crawled out of my hiding space and skulked to my locker, still wary of the Trio finding me but I guess I still let my guard down once I reached my destination. I remember putting in the combo to the lock, pulling it off and opening the door. I'm not going to go into detail as to what I found inside shocked me to paralysis but just think of the most creepy, disgusting and… well, use your imagination and I might have seen it in my locker, covering all my things.

That's when I heard the whisper in my ear, like it was softly carried on the wind. Sophia's voice sardonically saying, "Surprise!"

Then something hit me and I blacked out.

When I came to, I found myself in the trapped confines of that metal coffin, covered in that disgusting filth while feeling… things crawl all over and biting me in places while I felt blood well from my head wound. Needless to say, I freaked the fuck out like a cat in a cage being dipped into water. I started to scream for help while pounding onto the metal door to my coffin. In a moment of clarity, I tried to work the latch from the inside but that bitch had put the lock back on.

I don't know how long I was trapped in there but it felt like hours. Through it all, I screamed, pleading for help, while banging and scratching at that metal door, hoping and praying for someone to save me. As the minutes passed, my throat burned as I screamed it raw and my fingernails tore off, leaving bloody trails on the interior of that metal prison. Then, as time passed, my screams became shouts, then calls, then moans, then whispers even as my banging and clawing slowed to soft caresses of the metal. Eventually, I just stopped, feeling so drained and tired.

I don't know if it was delirium from my mind snapping, venom from whatever kept biting me though that had gone numb long ago or plain blood loss but I swear I could feel myself slowly dieing.

The one thing running through my mind was how unfair this all was and how I deserved a second chance at… at life.

I… I can't properly explain what happened next. I had some sort of hallucination… a vision or something about lights but not the 'walk into the light' kind. It's… unexplainable.

And then I found myself in the hallway, staring at the row of lockers with my shadow silhouetting mine. The only thing I could think of was it was all a bad dream.

We've finally come full circle. Hurray!

Anyways, so there I was, standing in the hallway. I had to know, was it really a dream? It was one of those 'What's in the box?!' moments that will drive you insane if you don't find an answer.

So, I walked up and ripped the door off.

Yes, you read that correctly; scrawny, stick girl Taylor Herbert ripped the locker door clean off. I could still hear it clattering down the hallway as I stared at the… mess inside. I didn't see any blood inside but you could clearly see that someone… I had struggled inside with the filth. Belatedly, I checked myself over and found myself completely healed and clean, as if I had… reset to before being shoved and locked inside.

"I'm a Cape." I whispered in incredulity. You know; superhuman, metahuman, mutant or whatever super powered person you read in the comic books. In Brockton Bay, my home city, we call them Capes.

It's hard to explain how I knew… It's sort of like how you 'know' you have a left hand. I guess having a second liver would be more apt but anyways.

With that last thought, I quickly rushed home to find Dad still at work, one of the few times I was ever happy with him having to work late.

Running up the stairs to my room, I slammed the door closed so I could look into the mirror hanging on the back side of it. It wasn't until I gave myself a look over that I realised I wasn't wearing my glasses. My hereditary nearsightedness and astigmatism was cured and all it took was becoming a Cape.

Pulling out a notebook and pen, I made out a list and started testing out powers as I thought of them. Had to have gotten out of the locker somehow, right? So, I started there first.

Teleportation: Tried to teleport across the room and didn't move an inch. Test Failed.

Portals: I looked like an idiot swiping my hand through the air and waving circles. Test Failed.

Phasing or Intangibility: Tried pushing my hand through my bed and nothing. Test Failed.

Time powers: Staring at a clock for five minutes, only sore from straining too hard. Test Failed.

Super Healing: Very slightly cut my finger, just enough to bleed. Still hurt and needed a bandage to stop the bleeding. Test Failed.

Okay, well I at least had to have Super Strength, right? I mean, I ripped off the locker door! Tried to lift the corner of my bed and… yeah, Test Failed.

Finally had to stop for the night when Dad came home. I tried to play off my excitement as him finally being home and tomorrow being Saturday. I didn't want him to know about my plans to continue 'Power Testing' in the morning.

I could barely sleep that night.

o0O0o

08 Jan

After a quick breakfast and a kiss on Dad's cheek, I ran out to find a quiet, secluded place to test out powers. That turned out to be an alleyway between two closed businesses. Once found, I started a new battery of tests.

Super speed, Super Endurance, Super Eyesight, Super Thinking… basically, if you could put Super in front of something, I tested to see if I had it. All failed.

It wasn't until after I had lunch and time to cool down that I put more thought into it. What was the most defining thing about when I became a Cape?

I was dieing.

Now, the thought of stabbing or shooting myself to test this was out of the question. I mean, what if I'm wrong? 'Game over, man! Game over!'

So, I figured that maybe I could trick it into thinking I was in a 'do or die' scenario. I wondered if this counted as having suicidal thoughts as I found a fire escape that had its ladder lowered and started climbing to the four stories to the roof.

Okay, I've never really been afraid of heights but peeking down over the ledge, I felt the world twist as a wave of vertigo washed over me. Yeah, this is definitely a life threatening situation. Looking across the alley, I estimated the distance between roofs to be ten, maybe fifteen, feet apart due to the overhang.

Hey, if James Bond can do it, and he's just a normal human, I should be able to make it since I'm a Cape!

Gathering up my courage, not hard when there's so little there, I backed away to the other side of the roof. I needed to make a running start just to make sure. Hopping on my toes a bit, I kicked off into a sprint, watching the edge of the roof rush up. My left foot hit the edge and I pushed off.

Time seemed to slow down, my target rooftop coming closer as I continued to run mid-air. It was halfway through the leap that I realised that I wasn't going to make it. From that point, it wasn't running in mid air, my only plan now was to stretch out my arms to try and grab onto anything to prevent death!

Turns out I was wrong twice, I did actually reach the other roof; at least my arms did. Physics has a way of punishing you for any and all mistakes, though. You know, like latching onto the inside edge of the raised roof crown with your fingers while your body is now falling into the alleyway.

My chin broke against the stone moulding with a sickening crack.

My eyes flashing with blinding pain, I felt my fingers slip and gravity took full hold once more. Honestly, I'm not sure what happened next but I felt myself tumbling as I fell. Eventually, my face met the concrete below and I think neck broke. I swear, though, I had a couple of moments to realise that this was it, I was dead, before my powers kicked in.

Next thing I remember, I was standing in the same alleyway, perfectly healthy and whole. Believe me, I gave myself a full pat-down to check.

I died… and then, well, not resurrected…

"Reset? No, then I'd be up on the roof." Whatever, my powers were, I might be effectively immortal.

Wait…

That means that I actually died in that locker. Fuck! Sophia Hess fucking killed me! And, since I'm a Cape that… that… that respawns like a video game character, she's going to get away with it!

I screamed out in rage and punched a nearby trashcan. The thin metal can dented in before rocketing down the alley. Blinking, I looked at my fist; completely fine, not even a scuff.

I felt slightly… not weaker but… empty? I guess? It felt odd. As soon as I punched the trashcan, I… spent something but I only felt it now that it was gone.

Like any good idiot teenager, I punched rocket trash can's brother. "God damn, that hurt!"

Holding my right hand, I felt it tenderly. Nothing broken, no cuts in the skin; just hurts like hell. Shaking out the pain if only to start ignoring it, I thought about what I'd learned so far.

First, if I die, my power 'respawns' me near where I died in a fully healed state. I don't know the limitations on what constitutes 'death' but a broken neck and whatever happened in the locker count.

Second, I somehow gain… charges? I guess that works. I can spend these charges to do what? I guess I can punch things really hard without breakin my hand. Maybe I can kick stuff, too? Wonder what else I can do…

Looking around the alleyway and the destroyed trash can lying farther down, I cringed a little and decided I needed to move along. Besides, this was something to celebrate!

"I'm thinking ice cream…"

o0O0o

09 Jan

I decided to stay in today… could have been the hangover from the excitement yesterday, could have been the next step in my self discovery of my new future or it could have been the violent thunderstorm raging on outside.

A flash of lightning illuminated my darkened bedroom just then, as if in answer, followed by the rolling chorus of thunder a moment later as sheets of water splashed against the window.

Okay, so it was the raging storms keeping me inside.

The door cracked open, Dad knocking softly as small kerosene lamp he held flooded the room with flickering amber light. "You doing okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah, Dad… just, you know, hanging out in the darkness."

Dad just sighed, not happy either about the power outage. "I know. I've already called the power company but they can't do anything till the storms pass."

Sometimes living next to the Ocean sucks. Get some fresh fish and moderate temperatures but when it rains, it rains hard.

"You want to join me downstairs and share the light?"

"No thanks. I'm… thinking on stuff." We were watching some movies earlier in the morning but with the power out…

Dad blinked and looked interested. "Oh? What about?"

About me being a Cape and what I'm going to do about it. Instead of saying that I just shrugged while still laying on my bed. "You know… stuff."

Dad just rolled his eyes. "Okay, then. Well, if you need to talk about anything, let me know." With that, he closed the door but I heard him muttering something about me being 'that age'.

Back in the darkness, occasionally broken by the lightning that caused said darkness, I actually thought about the problem instead of just letting my mind wander. What did I want to do now that I had powers?

Another flash of lightning illuminated the room, letting me see an Alexandria poster I had on the wall. One of the Triumvirate, the three most powerful Capes in the United States and the original Capes of the Protectorate. If you had to classify Alexandria's power set to a few words, she's a flying brick… a beautiful flying brick that fights Endbringers and does other heroic things to make things safe for normal people.

I had the power to die and then laugh it off. I wasn't beautiful, I can't fly and my punches need charges or something to even work. Alexandria I was not.

Still, the fact that I had powers and the Trio at Winslow didn't brought a smile to my lips.

My mind wandered at that, thinking of how I could have messed with them if I had other, more versatile, powers. Spraying them with water or liquid, dropping bugs on them with levitation, set their hair on fire or any number of things powers do.

As nice as it would be to strike back at them, my new powers weren't really set up for that. I mean, I could set up an elaborate death trap for me to 'die' in but the respawn would definitely out me as a Cape, which I really don't want. So going after the Trio was out of the question.

The storm lit up Alexandria's heroic pose once more.

"Hero. Definitely a Hero."

Hero vs Villain question: Answered. Just call me Aristotle, cause I have all the answers apparently. So, what am I going to do as a hero? Save people but how?

Maybe start small. Set myself up as a Hero with small-time heroics until my Cape name is recognized. That way I'm not mistaken for a villain. I've read too many comics that have that stupid plot device.

Cape name? Not Phoenix or any spelling of that. I can think of at least three other heroes and one villain with that name. Also nothing to do with zombies, vampires or undead. One Revenant is enough and my powers are not 'corpse coming back to life', thank you very much!

Maybe I should just keep it simple for now. It's not like I can't just 'rebrand' myself later on if I think of something better. Guess I'll go with Respawn till then. I mean, it matches my powers, right?

Now, the biggest question; what am I going to do about a costume?

Shit.

Even if I saved my allowance for months, I'm not going to make a good costume. Why couldn't my powers be like Narwhal's and make my own costume with forcefields. Nah, I don't have the guts or figure for that.

Running through my meager wardrobe by memory, I winced at my limited options. I guess the most important factor is keeping my 'secret identity' secret right now instead of impressing everyone. Who knows, maybe there's some sort of fund for new Capes. In the meantime, I'll make due with what I have.

At least I don't have to worry about weapons, glancing over at my small desk. Inside the top drawer was a collapsible baton and a can of mace. Dad got them for me last year for my birthday. He probably thought I'd have filled out more and needed something to fight off all the boys. Well, jokes on him and me; I'm as figured as a stick!

Yay… go me.

o0O0o

15 Jan

Well, this week has been a real shitshow.

First off, the principal of Winslow somehow managed to blame me for the locker. Me! I'm the victim in all this! I mean, sure, I ripped off the door but that was extenuating circumstances.

Thankfully, and I say that with as much sarcasm as humanly possible, they aren't charging me for the vandalism. The principal sure talked my ear off, though.

Then the Trio started up on their catty comments again. Guess Sophia told them what she did or they were all in on it and she just did the deed. Either way, they're starting from the bottom of the bullying scale, which… well, I'm not fine with it but I can deal with it for now.

Anyways, it's Friday! Time for Respawn to make her debut!

Took a nap this afternoon, Dad's asleep right now and weather is decent tonight. Going to patrol the downtown alleyways for petty crooks. Gotta start somewhere.

Looking into the mirror, I do a quick equipment check. Hiking high-tops, blue jeans, grey hoodie with an old surplus army jacket Dad never wears and a black winter snow mask that covers my mouth and nose. Even though I've got my frizzy brown hair in a low ponytail, pulling the hood up covers pretty much everything but my eyes. It's more than Ms Militia, so I think that's good.

Patting the front pockets to the army jacket, I feel the collapsible baton and mace cans. Remembering, I pull on my thin leather gloves. Nothing like holding cold metal in winter.

Looking in the mirror once more, I have to sigh. I look like a malnourished homeless person than a hero. Still, you gotta start somewhere, I guess.

Sneaking out of the house was relatively easy, just making sure to avoid the creaky fourth step on the stairs.

It took me around thirty minutes of walking before I reached the edge of Downtown Brockton Bay. By then, a soft snow had begun falling from the sky, though it melted off once it hit the ground. Slipping into the alleyways was easy and no one even gave me a second glance in the darkness.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I skulked through the shadows. I felt so dirty, like I was a thief or something. Glancing at my watch, I was surprised at how little time had passed, only fifty minutes.

A door opened ahead of me and I ducked behind a trash can. A man peeked his head out and glanced around. If my heart was pounding before, it was a freaking V12 engine now!

After a moment, the man stepped out into the alley and lit up a cigarette. The minutes pass as his cig shrinks. Finally, once my heart rate calms down, he tosses the butt of the cig into a nearby can before going back inside.

The alleyway to myself once more, I let out a nervous giggle. All worked up for a smoke break. I felt exhausted as the giggling continued, my body sliding down to sit next to the trash can.

Some hero I'm turning out to be, getting freaked out like this. What if it was an actual villain or just a normal mugger?

I think I'm suffering an adrenaline crash.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, stand up, brush myself off and turn back towards home. I'm not getting anything done tonight, not with my nerves fried like this.

Kinda disappointing though, such a short patrol and nothing to show for it…

o0O0o

16 Jan

The soft snow started back up once the sun set on Saturday. It was just as easy for me to sneak out of the house, though I decided to ride my bike further downtown before I started my patrol.

Once more, I skulked down the alleyways. I might look like an idiot, trying to keep in the shadows but it was boring to just walk around at night. At least this time my heart decided to keep a normal tempo.

After almost two hours of patrolling, I was just turning back towards where I left my bike when a muffled scream echoed off the alley walls. Freezing in place, my heart heard it's cue and revved back up to V12 redline. Silence had taken reign over the area once more.

Straining my ears, I finally heard the quiet muffled crying and forced myself to take one step towards it. One became two and three and I stalked forward towards an intersection in the alleyway.

Peeking around a corner, I saw a man standing over a woman on the ground. In his hand was a knife, red dripping off the blade.

Well, there goes my heart again and this time my lungs decided to join in.

It took me way longer than I'd have liked to pull out my baton. Flicking it to full extension, the resulting clack of metal on metal resounded loudly off the walls.

"Who's there?!"

My breath hitched as the man hissed out dangerously, obviously hearing my actions. Come on, girl, relax. Remember that you're a Cape now and he can't kill you. I slowly let out my breath before hearing him slowly move towards the intersection I was hiding at.

My gloves groaned slightly as my grip on the baton tightens. Wait for him to turn the corner, then strike to the face. Wait for him to turn the corner then, STRIKE!

"Gah!" The man cries out in pain, falling to the ground. Another grunt of pain when he hits, then he's still.

"Oh, god. Oh, god." Gotta check! Make sure I didn't just kill him!

Leaning down, I see the growing bruise from where I bashed him in the face with the baton along the jaw. He's breathing still, little plumes of steam coming out of his mouth. I breath a sigh of relief.

A groan of pain from behind me. Oh, yeah, the woman. I move over to her before coming to a halt. She's scared of me, trying to push herself away while holding her shoulder. I pull my hood back, showing I'm a girl hopefully. "It's okay, I'm here to help."

The woman breaks down crying in relief, letting me relax just a little. I'm sort of lost on what to do now, though. I don't have any first aid gear but her wound doesn't seem that bad. I guess I'll just call 91…

I close my eyes and take a breath.

I don't have a cell phone. I can't call for help. I'm an idiot.

"Ma'am. Ma'am!" It takes a bit to get her attention. "Do you have a phone I can use to call 911?"

Talk about awkward but I use her phone and call 911. After passing on the location and condition of the victim and man, I try to keep the woman and myself calm. I leave just as the sirens start getting loud. It's already getting too late and I'm suffering an adrenalin crash again.

I can't help but feel elated as I ride home on my bicycle. I helped someone! I'm a real hero!

Awesome!

PS to Self: Get a prepaid cell phone or something!

o0O0o

22 Jan

All suited up and ready to head out, I glanced at the mirror in my room again. This… costume still has a lot to be desired. You know, actually being a costume?

I just let out a sigh, just like I've done the couple times this week I've gone out in it.

Tonight, though, it's going to be different. Instead of going downtown I'm heading into ABB territory!

The Protectorate, or PRT, are like the Super Police and they technically keep the peace in Brockton Bay. The technically isn't a mistake as they still haven't cleaned up the three main gangs in town: the ABB, the E88 and the Merchants.

The ABB, or Azn Bad Boys, are basically the Chinese Triad under Lung. They control the train depot and part of the warehouse area north of my house.

The E88, or Empire 88, are basically Neo-Nazis and lead by a man named Kaiser. Original name, I know. Anyways, they have the run of the commercial districts west of here.

Lastly, and certainly least, are the Merchants under Skidmark. Thinking about it, Respawn is actually a good Cape name, but I digress. They technically run around the Docks on the other side of ABB territory but they're really just drug users who also make drugs. I'm honestly amazed that they haven't overdosed and died yet.

So, why did I choose the ABB over the Merchants? Cause the ABB are closer and I'm not sure I want to deal with a gang of homeless people when my costume looks like 'The Hobo Avenger'.

Taking a deep breath, I shake out my nerves. Well, enough delaying, time to go looking for trouble.

It took me about forty minutes to find some ABB goons. Problem was, they weren't doing anything! They were just standing around at the mouth to an alley smoking cigs and talking in what I think is Chinese to each other. So, I had a decision to make, do I watch these goons and wait for something to happen or move on…

I let out a soft sigh and settled down to wait it out, just another lump of rubbish in the darkness. Why couldn't I have a mover power so I could patrol a larger area faster?

It wasn't too much longer till someone walked up to the duo of ABB goons. There was some hushed talking, then the stranger shook hands with each of the goons.

If I hadn't been paying attention, I would have missed the drugs swapping hands and eventually going into the stranger's coat pocket. Thank you powers for the free eye surgery!

Okay, it's show time. Time to bust some drug dealers!

Now if I could only stop shaking.

I took three deep breaths before finally building up the nerve to stand and move towards the two thugs. Come on, Taylor, you're immortal! What are they going to do? Shoot you? So what!

Mentally talking myself up, I strode forward until I was ten or so feet away. A last second thought had me trying to deepen my voice. "You two are under arrest for…"

The sound of two gunshots rang out in the confined alleyway and I jerked back twice to clutch my belly. Looking up, one of the thugs had a pistol pointed towards me. The motherfucker shot me! Twice!

That's when the pain hit. Huh… who knew getting shot in the gut hurt so much. How much? Enough that I could only curl up into a ball and keen in pain. I think the thugs said something but all I could concentrate on was my own panicked breathing and the growing pool of red life fluid growing under me. I'm such an idiot… and it's getting colder…

Twisting my head up slowly, I glared at the two thugs calmly examining my prone form like it was nothing to them. Stupid powers… why can't you have pain immunity or some other bullshit. The thugs turned away as I let out one last haggard breath.

You know, it's quite a jarring feeling, going from excruciating pain from being shot in the stomach to instantly being so full of life that you feel supercharged.

With that in mind, I think Thug #2 could be excused for his shriek of surprise when I, the dead body behind them, punched his partner into the parked suburban before them. Oh, and I don't mean bounced off of said suburban; Thug #1 is literally in the vehicle with only his legs hanging out of the shattered back passenger window.

Okay, there's a charge spent. Guess I get some charge when I respawn? Something to check later.

Seems Thug #2 rubbed his two brain cells together and realised he's messing with a Cape. Why do I think that? Cause he just busted off in a harried sprint away from the 'Murder Hobo'.

"Get back here, asshole!" I yell out, taking off after him.

Damn. He's faster than me and I'm getting tired already. It's all I can do the keep him in sight as he turns corners ahead of me. Ung… this stitch in my side hurts!

Panting for breath, I turn the final corner to see Thug #2 crank up the SUV with Thug #1 now fully in the back seat. Huh, I guess he's smarter than he looks, cause he just ran me in a circle. Oh, and he's about to run me over with t…

My body goes flying from the impact and wraps around a light pole… backwards… If the pain of being shot was excruciating, I've found something worse as my spine shatters.

And now I'm standing on the sidewalk, the SUV already rocketing off into the distance.

"Well, shit."

Letting out a deep sigh, I turn around and start walking home. I think I'm done for the night.

o0O0o

23 Jan

Uhg… so exhausted…

Somehow, I managed to drag my worn out body up the front stoop of my house without falling. I had to lean against the door as I fumbled with the locks, my legs feel like jello. Finally unlocking the door, I opened it up and stumbled through, managing to pull it closed behind me.

Dad looks at me from the stove, I think he's making lunch? "You okay, kiddo?"

I smile slightly at the concern in his voice as I collapse at the table. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired."

Dad quirked his brow at me, must be thinking of why I'm looking like this. Don't blame him really, I'm drenched in sweat and wearing my workout sweats. "Anything I need to know?"

Yes but I'm not going to tell you… I feel dirty thinking that. "Don't worry, Dad. I know I can talk to you. I'm just… trying to improve myself, you know?"

"Improve yourself, huh?" Dad mused, dumping some noodles into the boiling water. Spaghetti sounds good right about now. "Is it about a boy?"

I blink at that before sighing. "No, Dad. You don't have to worry about any boys trying to date me." Why would they look at me when almost every other girl in Winslow outshines me in the beauty department.

"Is it… a girl then?" It takes a moment before I squeak in surprised incredulity at his question. "Hey, I just want you to know, I'll love you either way, Taylor."

"No, Dad! There are no girls, either!" I roll my eyes before standing up, legs still weak but not wobbling anymore. "Anyways, I'm going to go take a shower and change."

"Okay. Lunch will be ready once you're done. Love you, kiddo."

"Love you, too, Dad" I call back down the stairs. Hmm… a hot shower sounds amazing right now.

o0O0o

25 Jan

"Running's just going to make you tired!" I panted out, not mentioning how tired I already was.

The cutpurse finally had a turn of bad luck, finding himself in a fenced off alleyway with that curly barbed wire on top. When he turned around to run back, there I was.

"Take a wrong turn there, buddy?" The mask covering the bottom of my face hid the smirk but you could hear it in my voice plain as day.

The crook scowled before dropping the purse and unsheathing a knife. And not a baby switchblade but a full on Bowie knife! "I don't want no trouble, so just let me go, girl."

You've got a knife, so what? I've been shot twice and even that didn't keep me down! I flicked my wrist, extending my baton while taking a deep breath. "Come at me, bro."

You know those movies where the hero and villain stare each other down before rushing forward towards a well choreographed melee fight? Well, I got half of that right.

We stared at each other until I shifted my foot slightly, then we rushed towards one another.

After that, well… He dodged my baton and sliced my neck open. The fight was over that quick. Somehow, and I'm still not sure how, I managed to pull out my mace and sprayed it into his face.

Damn, who knew choking to death on your own blood could be that uncomfortable.

Eventually, but not quick enough, I finally respawned, fresh and ready to fight. Looking around, I saw and heard the crook trying to scrub his eyes clear of the burning liquid. Reaching over, I picked up my baton, walked up behind him and whacked the hand holding the knife. He screamed in pain, clutching his injured hand, giving me just the opening to hook the baton under his chin and start choking him out.

"Let's see how you like it, jerk." I muttered, burning a charge to drop him down on his stomach, all the while holding the baton over his windpipe. Sitting on his back, I held on as he thrashed wildly, trying to buck me off and regain access to air. It took longer than a thought it would before he finally settled down and I let go.

I wanted to arrest the man, not kill him!

Still, to the victor goes the spoils, right? With that thought in mind, I divested the criminal of both knife and sheath. Who knows, it could prove useful. Thinking on it, I also found his wallet and became more wealthy by sixty-seven dollars.

Now all that was left was calling the police and heading home. Not bad for a Tuesday night.

o0O0o

29 Jan

Powers are weird.

Okay, maybe some context might be nice for that statement.

Last night, I found out I can 'force' a respawn if I'm hurt. It's kinda acts like I died but without giving me a charge. Thing is, I force it unless I'm hurt 'enough'. How much is enough? Damned if I know!

I mean, I 'know' when I can because it's like a button lights up in my brain and I can press it to do the respawn but exactly how hurt I need to be to activate it is still up in the air. Papercuts and other minor things are no good but slamming a Bowie knife into my thigh can trigger it if I wiggle it enough.

Yeah, thinking about that 'experimentation' still disturbs me some. Still kinda surprised I actually went through it, really. Wonder if that's a part of having powers or a sign I'm slowly going insane.

Shit. Did I clear the internet history on the computer at school? I guess I could always explain it as just researching anatomy for a biology test or something. I mean, does Winslow High really need to know I was trying to figure out the best way to stab yourself in the heart? It's between the fifth and sixth ribs, by the way.

Hmm… is it really murder or suicide if the victim comes back to life?

Oh, I'm starting to feel that 'runner's stitch' again. I'll do it in the alley right there. Stepping into said alley, I unsheathe my hidden knife and jam it into my left arm between the radius and the ulna before cutting out towards my hand. Mental button lights up.

Respawn completed and now refreshed, I resheath the knife and continue my sprint.

Yeah, I figured that out two nights ago, chased after a mugger and got hit by a delivery truck. Truck drove away from the scene but I wasn't after him anyways. Yeah, the mugger got away too but I learned yet another thing about my power.

If I respawn, either by forcing it or death, I'll be reenergized like I'd just had a power nap . Haven't tested it yet, but maybe I don't need sleep now? Something to think about later.

Best thing about respawning like this is that I keep any progress I made before respawning! So, if I run five miles then respawn, my muscles seem to keep the… I don't know, 'memory' of having run them? Is that even a thing? Whatever.

The thing is, I can feel myself getting stronger and faster! I may not be track team quality but it's going to be near impossible to outrun me now.

I come to a screeching halt at another alley to puke into a trash can. Spitting out as much as I can, I force another respawn. Yeah… go me.

I start sprinting again.

o0O0o

12 Feb

A student died at Winslow High last week. Caused a huge commotion, closing down the school for the rest of that day and the next. They did an 'official investigation' but everyone already knew what happened.

Terry died popping Ecstasy he bought from a Merchant dealer.

Rumor had it, this was his only 'experimentation' with the stuff. I didn't know the guy but he seemed nice enough based off what everyone said about him. So as a last respects for him, the last couple of weeks instead of patrolling downtown or hunting ABB goons I decided to hunt Merchants.

And once I struck, it was going to hurt them bad.

See, I wasn't messing with any of the street dealers, since I figured if I take one of them out another will just fill the space. But, if I take down one of their drug labs, or whatever they call them, there's nothing for them to sell!

So, here I was on a Saturday afternoon, watching Merchants go in and out of a dilapidated building. I think it used to be a small staging warehouse sometime in the past, but with the docks under hard times, I guess it was abandoned until the Merchants took it over.

When I cased the building yesterday night, I saw three entrances but the dealers only use one. Sneaking up in the darkness, I found that it's because they barricaded the other two. Makes a little sense if you're worried about someone stealing your stuff but there's only one escape route now.

Well, I'm not just going to walk in the front door. I might be able to respawn but pain still hurts!

Glancing around, I notice a nearby two story building. Maybe I can jump down from that roof and land on the Merchants' roof. From there, I can look through any skylights or whatnot to see what I'm dealing with inside.

I decide to take my time getting up to the second story roof. No need to make noise and get caught, right?

Okay, I'm looking down on the Merchants' building and it's got one skylight directly in the center. So, all I need to do is land on the warehouse and look into the skylight. Sounds easy enough, especially since I'm jumping down to a lower roof.

No time like the present, I guess!

Stepping back from the edge, I pace myself for a running jump. Three quick breaths and my shoes pound forward. I push off, feel the slight moment of weightlessness before gravity takes hold once more.

Hah, I'm gonna be right on target! No missing the roof this time!

I bend my knees slightly, prepping for the landing. My feet touch metal. Knees bend more to absorb kinetic energy. Roof sags with my weight.

Crack!

I have a split second to realise that was the support beam under me as the roof drops a couple inches. Maybe it's a primal part of the human mind, but sometimes you just know things are going to get worse.

"Shit!"

The roof fell out underneath me and gravity dragged me in.

Thankfully, the hard wooden table cushioned my fall. Ung… feels like I broke my everything when my back hit wood. Blinking the stars out of my eyes, I noticed the shocked Merchants standing round the table. Apparently they were playing poker or something before I crashed their party.

We had another of those 'stand off' moments, where none of us moved as the dust settled.

"What the fuck?!"

Don't know which one of them shouted but all hell broke loose after that. I twisted and scrambled off the table, knocking chips and cards around. Just as my feet touched the floor, I found out they had guns.

Boom! My body jerked to the side, another wave of pain flashing over me before the respawn hit.

Standing up straight, I turned my head towards the shotgun wielding Merchant. His eyes widened as he witnessed all the damage his buckshot inflicted disappear in an instant. "Cape!"

Well, that was quick. Reaching out, I grabbed hold of a wooden chair before chucking it at the man. The chair slammed into him, driving him to the ground in a moaning heap.

This was the green light for the other three to open fire as well.

Long story short, I died four more times and took out the remaining Merchants. Sorry about the lack of detail but it's all sort of a haze once the adrenaline kicked in and the action started. Hey, if it helps, picture me doing flip kicks, cartwheels and whatever else to win.

As the warehouse settled into silence and my ears finally stopped ringing from the gunfire, I took stock of everything. I'd landed in a drug warehouse, not a lab. While most of the shelves were broken or barren, one wall was covered in jars of powders, pills and other drug related things.

Well, not a lab but still better than some random street dealers. Fishing out my pre-paid cell phone, I dialed up a programmed number.

A woman's voice responded. "PRT Hotline. Please state the nature of your emergency."

"I just took out a Merchant drug warehouse. Need an ambulance. One of them shot another in the arm trying to get me. I bandaged it but…"

The PRT woman paused on her end, maybe typing into a computer. "Okay. Could you please identify yourself?"

Alright, time for my real debut! "My name's Respawn and I'm a new hero."

"Okay, Respawn. Where is your location?"

I started giving her the general location but couldn't remember the building number and description. I told the PRT woman, Cindy, that I was going to step outside to check, putting actions to words.

Opening the door, seeing a blonde girl in a white leotard rearing back to punch wasn't what I expected.

"Fuck!" I groaned out, pushing myself out of the pile of wrecked shelves. Considering just her punch alone was enough to fling me across the warehouse and trigger a respawn, I'm just thankful she didn't punch me into the wall of drugs.

"Give up! You're under arrest!" Looking towards the voice, I spot the blonde girl flying a few feet above the ground looking down at me.

Oh, okay. I was just punched to death by Glory Girl.

Feeling the phone still in my hand, I raise it up to my ear. "Hey, PRT lady? Glory Girl just showed up and I think we're having one of those Hero to Hero confusion conflict things."

Cindy was silent for moment before hesitantly replying. "I see… Do you need any assistance?"

"Nah, I think I can handle it. Just make sure an ambulance and whatnot get out here to arrest these guys."

I don't wait for a response before flipping the phone closed and putting it back in my pocket. Floating in the air, Glory Girl looks a little wary, glancing around before returning her eyes to me.

Awkward silence attack was super effective!

Eventually, Glory Girl got tired of the wait. "You're a hero?"

"Respawn." I replied back curtly. I mean, she did just kill me with a single punch. Right now, that was overwhelming the giddiness at meeting one of the New Wave heroes.

Glancing around once again, Glory Girl indicated one of the unconscious drug dealers. "And you did this?"

I nodded. "Yeah, right before you punched me."

"Right before I punched…" Her confused words trailed off as her face drained of color. "Ah… Sorry about that! At least you're okay, right? Brute power?"

I didn't feel like going into details on my powers right now. Hell, even I didn't fully understand their limits yet. "Sure, let's go with that. Anyways, what are you doing here?"

Coughing in embarrassment, the blonde hero lowered herself to the ground. "Well, I was patrolling and heard gunfire."

"And you saw me leave and thought I was one of them." I finished for her, picking at my olive drab army jacket.

"Well, yeah. No offense but I hope that's not your final costume."

I sighed, pulling back my hood to show my tied up hair. "It isn't. I'm trying to save up but it's slow going."

She smirked at that statement. "Oh, well that's easy to fix." With those words, she floated up and flew around the warehouse a bit.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for… there we are!" She exclaimed happily, reaching down to pick up a lockbox. Flying back, she set it on the table and broke it open to reveal stacks of cash. "Here you go. Go make your costume."

With that, she dropped two rubberband wrapped stacks into my hand. Looking from the stack back to Glory Girl in surprise, I was speechless for a moment. "Wait. Isn't this, I don't know, stealing or something?"

"Eh…" The blonde girl replied offhandedly with a grin. "It sort of an unwritten rule between independent heroes and the PRT. If we bust a villain or criminal base, we can loot a little so long as we turn the rest in. Besides, every hero needs a costume. Why not let the Merchants pay for it?"

I'm not sure if it showed through the mask but I grinned back at her before pocketing the money.

"Actually…" Glory Girl started saying, grabbing a pen and writing something on one of the playing cards before handing it to me. "Once you get your new costume set up, give me a call. We can do a patrol together or something!" Pulling her phone out of her utility belt, she winced. "Look, sorry but I have to get back home or my Mom's going to kill me."

With that, I watched Glory Girl fly out the hole in the roof I caused and was alone with the unconscious Merchants once more. Hearing the sirens echoing in, I started home as well.

Now, how am I going to make this costume...

o0O0o

End of Chapter 1

o0O0o

A/N

So, I read 'Death is a Vacation' by Tarkus the Jaguar here on FFnet. I liked the idea of Taylor's new powerset but I didn't like the direction and writing style of Tarkus. So, I decided to write my own story.

I'm also experimenting with First Person Narrative instead of using the usual Third Person Narrative. Basically, anything you read is as if Taylor had thought it or experienced it. There will be PHO message board breaks every once in awhile but for the most part, it's Taylor's point of view.

Additionally, I've done something different in how I planned out this story. In all my previous works, I had a vague idea of where I wanted to end the story but would only really plan a chapter or two in advance. For KCaR, I've written an outline from story start to story end. This should keep me from writing myself into a corner because I've already planned everything out and scrapped around three chapters worth of ideas.


	2. Chapter 2

Keep Calm and Respawn

A Worm Fanfiction

By: Konsaki

17 Feb - Afternoon

Those stacks of cash were burning holes in my pockets. Not literally, obviously, but it was a lot of money! Now that I had the means to, everything I saw looked so tempting to buy!

Take a breath, Taylor. People are starting to look at you funny. Calm down and just window shop.

Ever since Glory Girl gave me those stacks of cash, I've been thinking about what my new costume should be. There were so many options available to me, I guess I couldn't make any decision. Hell, just for the headpiece you had: hats of multiple types, no hat, helmet styles out to wazoo, visorless, face mask, full mask, half mask… the options were endless but there was always one overall limiting factor; how much money I had available to spend.

That limitation realised, I decided to have one simple plan; the most expensive part of the costume had to be bought first. And what piece should be the most expensive? Coats, bodysuits or armor for the body.

Well, considering my powerset, I could write off armor as a whole. I mean, why try to prevent damage when I'm aiming to get killed? Wow, that sounds suicidally morbid…

Anyways, that leaves coats. What happened to bodysuits? I looked in the mirror and said no. Maybe if it had armor pieces attached to enhance what little figure I had but refer back to my thoughts on armor.

So, every day after school since then, I've been window shopping downtown.

That's when I ran into another problem. I had a lot of money that I want to spend but every time I look at the prices of anything I cringe and can't buy it! Dad and I aren't poor by any means but we aren't rich either. So, I guess Dad's frugality rubbed off on me or something.

I don't know… maybe getting something mainstream isn't good either, now that I think about it. I mean, it wouldn't do to have copycats or imposters just able to buy something off a rack or have someone attacked by a villain because of misidentification. Who knows, maybe I'm just overthinking it all.

Come on, Taylor, use your brain and think it out. What are you really looking for?

Well, whatever I buy should be… bright? Hmm… Colorful? Something eye catching. You know, it should have a 'look at me! I'm a hero!' look to it. Something that's completely different than I normally wear.

It should also show I mean business, so no frills or bows or cutesy stuff. Not that I'd wear any of that but still... That being said, I continue walking past the '16 & Me' clothing store, ignoring the colorful display. Considering Madison wears that kind of junk to be 'cute' when she's just a bullying bitch is a major turn off.

I could see Emma wearing some of that style but never going full 'cute'. She always wears more 'sophisticated' attire, in her own words. Yeah, her dad's a lawyer and she's rich compared to the rest of us Winslow plebeians.

Great, now I'm brooding. Quick, Taylor, think of Sophia dressed like Madison!

I snort out a quick laugh at the image. Sophia, the tough girl of Winslow High, wearing a dress with ribbons in her hair was too ridiculous. Sophia was the sporty type of girl when she wasn't a raging bitch.

The next time she bumps into me on 'accident', I swear I'm gonna punch her or something. I'm getting sick and tired off them and their bullshit! I mean, I'm a Cape now! I've taken down a Merchant drug… Hello, what's this?!

Turning my full attention to the distraction, I saw a bright red coat in a small display window across the street. Glancing about, I realised I had walked to the edge of the downtown area, the buildings much smaller and worn. It made it easier to cross the road, though.

Trapps' Leather

It looked to be one of those Mom and Pop stores instead of a retail chain. You know, the kind that would rather 'make due' instead of selling themselves to a corporate overlord. That didn't matter to me as I looked in the window at the leather long coat displayed on the mannequin. It didn't have a price tag visible but it just called to me. So, I went inside.

The air was dark and musty, the strong smell of leather and oils handling like the weight of authority judging you. In the few lights on in the main… well, show room isn't the right words but there were more than a few leather wares and boots on display. Anyways, the spot lamps had flecks of glittery dust floating through them, giving a surreal ethereal vibe. Oddly, all the wares were perfectly clean, unlike the shelves they rested on.

Taking a few steps, and disturbing more dust, I had a closer look at the long red leather coat that had caught my eye. It was a bright crimson, so bright that even with just the dull grey light coming in the window the coat almost glowed. Sewn into it were strategically placed thin black belts, almost imitating ribs along the sides while the shoulders and arms looked padded with more black leather atop the radiant red. The bottom of it looked cut like a swallow tail while up top a hood hid the mannequin's head, only leaving the lower face visible.

This was it. This was the costume. Everything else would play off this coat.

"Good evening, young lady."

Okay, I shrieked a little as I jerked around. Come on! I didn't hear him or anything before that!

In the doorway leading to a back room was an aging man, based off the greys in his otherwise raven hair. Oddly, he was dressed in a casual suit of blacks and reds. If there's one thing I'd remember about him, though, were those piercing red eyes.

"Ah, hi." I responded awkwardly, fidgeting slightly with my hands. "Um… are you Mr Trapps?

"Yes, that is so." His accent was odd, like eastern European. "I see you are interested in my work." As he said this, he moved past me and adjusted the coat.

I blinked at that. "You made this?"

"Indeed." He replied before sighing. "A gift for an aspiring young lady…"

Though his face never left his original blank countenance, I thought I could hear the hint of loss in his monotone voice. "What happened to her?"

"The Teeth."

Even though it was delivered in the same emotionless way, I sucked in a breath.

The Teeth were a big gang in Brockton Bay when I was in grade school. And they were evil scum. They'd kidnap people off the streets or out of their homes and forced them to fight to the death in the Pits. Others, whether unlucky or lucky, would just be murdered at the drop of a hat.

Then, one day, they were almost wiped out by the Slaughterhouse 9. Then the other gangs ran what was left of them out of town.

"I'm sorry." I lamely replied to the leather craftsman.

"What's done is done." He dismissed my words; either for bringing up the lady's fate or my apology, I don't know. Still those eyes of his bored into me, as if he was silently judging me for something. "Maybe it is time to let go of things past. Maybe this is the coat for a new aspiring young lady."

I don't know why, but his words seemed to echo through the room, unlike how mine didn't. I swallowed before licking my dry lips. "I'm interested in it. The coat, that is."

He stared into me for a few moments, his crimson irises continuing to bore into me. I felt a tingling at the base of my spine, as a wave of general unease settled over me. Yeah, I was definitely getting a little creeped out here. Finally, after much too long, he spoke.

The price Mr Trapps stated for the coat was… well, it was a lot. Like, if it was for anything else, I'd have told them they were insane. But I wanted… needed that piece de resistance for my costume!

"I'll take it."

"Indeed."

We made the trade and I stepped back outside into the lightly falling snow, coat safely stored in my backpack.

Thinking back on it, I should have at least tried the damn coat on to make sure it fit but something about it just screamed 'of course it will fit' in my head. At least, that's what I'd say if asked. Really, I was just so nervously giddy that it didn't even occur to me.

o0O0o

17 Feb - Early-Evening

The trip home was one of the longest bike rides I've ever experienced… at least it felt that way as thoughts of me trying on my new costume attire in the solitude of my bedroom filled my mind.

Unlocking the front door and entering the house, the sounds of the television playing a game show rolls into my ears. Apparently one of the contestants did something stupid cause Dad is berating the person's poor judgement. I rolled my eyes at the show host lamenting the loss before the announcer announced a consolation prize.

"Hey, Dad." I called out, relocking the front door and heading towards the stairs. Even though the neighborhood was relatively safe, it was a habit to keep the house locked up whether we were here or not.

"Hey yourself, kiddo." Dad replied, staying seated on the aging couch. "You have a good day?"

"Yeah, I did. I'm just gonna go relax in my room." I said as I walked behind the couch.

"Whoa, there. Hold it."

Dad's commanding words set my nerves alight. If he checks my backpack, he'll see the coat and want to know how I got it. It would blow my hero plans out of the water before I even really get them going! My feet halt me in place, the couch and my father behind me.

"Okay, turn around, Taylor."

Swallowing, I slowly to face him. "What's up?"

I saw him quirked an eyebrow at my forced nonchalance. Guess he saw right through me. "Not wearing your glasses?" My blood turns to ice. I unconsciously touch my temple, realising I'd forgotten something important. "Trying contacts again?"

There's my out! "Ah, yeah, heh. Guess I just forgot." God, I hope Dad doesn't call me on my lie. I feel dirty.

Dad sighed and looked a little defeated. "You look so much like your mother when she wore them. If… if you really want to have contacts, I'll work it into the budget."

And now I feel like utter trash. "No! It's okay, Dad! I'm… I'm just trying something different. You know?"

"If you say so…" Dad sounded unsure but let it lie.

Who's on the ride called 'Guilt Trip'? This girl! I moved towards him and placed my hand on his arm. "Dad, it's fine. I'm fine. Thanks… you know, for everything."

"Hey, you're my baby girl." A sad smile grew on his face before a soft sigh escaped him. "You're just growing up so fast. I wish Annette was still here to see you. She'd be so proud of you."

I'm not so sure, considering I've been lying to the only parent I have left. "Yeah…" I agree, sheepishly rubbing my arm through my jacket. "I'm… I'm gonna go up to my room, okay?"

"Sure."

I left Dad to his thoughts about Mom and somberly went upstairs to my room. I tossed my backpack onto the bed and locked the door behind me before letting out a deep sigh.

Moving over, I opened one of the smaller pockets on the backpack, pulling out a glasses case. Opening it up, I looked upon the copy of my normal glasses. Same frames of the same color but one major difference; the lenses were fake. They did nothing to correct my now perfect vision.

When I got my powers, not needing glasses anymore seemed like such a minor thing that I didn't even think about it. That was until Dad came home that evening and noticed immediately. That's when I first lied about trying out contacts, since my glasses now blinded me instead of clearing my vision.

Thankfully, Dad accepted the lie for a few days until I could get the fakes that I wore since. It's just, now that I don't need glasses, it's hard to remember if I'm wearing them or not. I'll just treat this as another reminder that I have to be careful about 'Respawn'.

Thinking of that, I hang my jacket in the closet before taking my… Respawn's coat out of the backpack.

I may be Taylor and Respawn but they're different identities. It's probably safer to consider anything for hero activities Respawn's things, at least so I don't forget.

Holding the crimson coat up before me, I thought about how much it weighed. It was enough that if I wanted to keep holding it up at arm's length, my arms would start getting tired but not sore. Putting it on, though, I hardly felt the weight at all!

It fit really well! I mean, it was slightly loose but I wasn't swimming in it either. You know, that 'grow into it' size but the sleeves were still a good length and everything. I catch a glimpse of me adjusting a sleeve in the door mirror and freeze.

I don't see Taylor Hebert in the reflection. I see Respawn, new hero of Brockton Bay. She smiles… I smile before frowning. I'm not wearing the full costume yet. I pull on the half mask, covering the bottom half of my face. Now the look is complete.

Black half mask, black long sleeve shirt tucked into some dark blue jeans and hiking boots; all of these supporting my new crimson leather long coat. Flipping the hood of the coat up, it just adds to the Hero look. Dark shadows cover the top half of my face but without blocking my vision.

This is Respawn. I am Respawn.

Moving over to my closet, I felt the long tails of the coat flapping on my legs. I smiled as I opened the door and pulled out the belt holding Respawn's tools; the knife, the extendable baton and can of mace. Wrapping the belt around my waist, I was now fully equipped, my cheap prepaid phone was already in my pocket.

Thinking of the phone, I pull it out and flip it open. I only had two contacts in it; the PRT hotline and the number Glory Girl gave me.

I selected the latter and pressed call. It rings a few times before it connected.

"Who is this?!" Glory Girl's demand shook me for a moment.

"Uh, this is Respawn. From the Merchant bust?" I hesitantly answered.

"Oh! Sorry about that!" Glory Girl's voice changed almost a hundred eighty degrees, now a cheerful friendly tone. "Didn't have you in my phone yet, so your name didn't show."

"Ah, no problem." I tried rubbing the back of my neck but the hood got in the way.

"Oh, and sorry about the whole punching you thing." I could hear the wince in her voice.

"It's in the past." Mistakes happen and she helped me indirectly get my new costume set up.

"Thanks. So, what's up?"

"Well, you said to call when I get my costume set up…" I sort of drifted off at the end. Damn social anxiety.

"Really?! That's awesome!" Glory Girl's enthusiasm made me smile and relax slightly. "We've got to do a debut patrol to show you off to the world!"

"What?"

"You know, just wander around downtown out in the open being seen. We do it every now and then, you know, New Wave does. It's sorta like a public relations thing. We did one when I got my powers and became a hero." She explained… at like a mile a minute.

"Ah… okay?"

"Great! Hmm… how about tomorrow? You know, after school lets out?"

Well, tomorrow was Friday, so I would have probably patrolled or something anyways, so… "Sure. Where should I meet you?" Moving to my desk, I grabbed a pen and paper.

"Eh… You know what, meet me here…" At that, she started rattling off an address, which I wrote down.

o0O0o

18 Feb

It was a clear afternoon, a slight breeze from the sea. I was kind of surprised, it didn't take me any time at all to get used to really wearing Respawn's Coat. I'm actually having more trouble with all the looks I'm getting as I walk down the street. Some people were actually taking pictures with their phones!

I'm glad the black half mask covers my blushing. With that and the hood up, you can barely see my eyes but, for some reason, I can see out just fine. Like, I'd have to force the hood to get in my way.

I love this coat so much!

Finally reaching my destination, blinked in surprise. It was a nice two story house, at least twice the size of mine. This was the address Glory Girl gave me last night over the phone. She wanted me to meet up at her house… New Wave's house!

No, Tay… Respawn! No fangirling out over meeting other heroes!

Coming up to stand on the welcome mat, I ring the doorbell and hear the chimes go off inside. It take a few moments before the door latch clunks and it opens to show a stern looking woman. Ms Dallon, AKA Brandish, mother of Glory Girl. "Who are you and what do you want?"

I blink in surprise at the sudden demand. "Uh… My name's Respawn and Glory Girl told me to meet her here?"

The door jerks wide open a second later, showing the white dress wearing blonde hero. "Oh, wow! Your costume looks amazing!"

"You know her?" The woman asked sternly, quirking an eyebrow.

Glory Girl just rolled sighed in mild annoyance. "Yes, Mom. We busted up a Merchant warehouse together. I invited her to go patrolling with me today."

"What's this about a Merchant warehouse?" Ms Dallon asked with a pointed glare towards her daughter, who looked a little nervous now.

"I asked for her help." I cut in, the mother's glare turning to me now. Might as well go all the way. "A kid died at my school due to them and it was payback for him."

Ms Dallon looked at me for a few moments before jerking a slight nod. "Acceptable. Don't do it again."

"Right, Mom. We're just going around downtown. You know, to debut her new costume!" Glory Girl explained, throwing an arm over my shoulder.

"Remember your curfew." Ms Dallon directed before closing the door to the house, leaving her daughter and me outside.

We stood there for a moment looking between the door and ourselves before Glory Girl broke out into a wide smile, leading me down the walkway by the arm still around my shoulder. "Come on, partner! Let's go show you off to the world!"

If random people looked and took a few photos before, now they were brazenly stopping on the sidewalk to take blatant pics or videos with their phones. Glory Girl was eating the attention up, floating a few inches above the ground or striking poses. It was all I could do to not freeze up and just wave. Well, there was one good looking guy who took a video while Glory Girl egged me on to do a peace sign and pose.

At first it was awkward, getting all the direct attention. Then I got a little used to it as Glory Girl obviously lapped it up. Eventually, I think I was having fun too.

After an hour or so of this, though, I was getting exhausted.

It seemed Glory Girl recognized this as well. She quickly thanked the lingering civilians and smoothly guided me into a nearby alleyway. Out of sight and out of mind, I was able to take a deep breath and relax slightly.

"Not used to the attention, huh?" She sounded empathetic.

"Not really. How do you handle it?"

"New Wave." Glory Girl smiled at me. "Well, you'll get used to it. Just give it time."

"If you say so." I didn't really believe that statement but let it go.

The blonde beauty just laughed before startling slightly at a slight buzz. She pulled out her phone and activated it. "Hey, what's up?" She paused for a moment. "Mind if I bring a friend?" A shorter pause. "Yeah, new hero named Respawn making her debut today." Another pause. "Just a sec."

Glory Girl finally turned to me and smiled. "Want to go meet up with some of the Wards?"

I blinked in surprise. First a 'patrol' with Glory Girl and now meeting some of the Wards? "Sure!"

Glory Girl grinned at my tone as I blushed. So thankful for the half mask. "Alright, where do you want to meet up, Gallant?" She looked like she was committing something to memory. "Alright, see you there!"

The 'there' that we met the Wards was Fugly Bob's.

Last time Dad and I ate there I swear I could feel the grease trying to clog my heart. It's actually locally famous for that, though no one has actually had their hearts stopped yet. There's a reason why I haven't been there in over a year.

But here I was again, walking through the busy diner Glory Girl and I got quite a few awed looks and more phone photos. Thankfully, she led me into a back private room.

The private room had a small circular table for four with chairs around it. Oh, and it had Gallant and Clockblocker, two of the Brockton Bay Wards. The Wards are basically government sponsored 'heroes in training' under the PRT. I've thought about joining them but I'm not sure yet. I still want to stretch my hero legs first.

"Whoa! Is Panacea hitting that darkness emo stage of her life?" Clockblocker called out when Glory Girl and I entered. To match his name, his white spandex suit was covered in black clocks. If I remember right, he has the power to freeze anything or anyone he touches in time for a while.

Gallant just palmed the faceplate to his tinker suit while Glory Girl just rolled her eyes. "Guys, this is Respawn. Respawn, this is Gallant and Clockblocker." She introduced while sitting down next to Gallant.

Belatedly, I took the last empty seat. "Uh... Hi?"

Gallant nodded in greeting, his silver polished tinker suit reflecting the soft light of the room. "Pleased to meet you, Respawn."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too." I automatically responded, still a little shocked.

"So, how you been doing the hero thing?" Clockblocker asked, leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table.

"This is her debut!" Glory Girl chirped for me, looking up from her menu. She smiled and nudged me with an elbow. "She's showing off her snazzy new costume!"

"The coat is rather impressive." Gallant said politely, though I couldn't see his face through the metal helmet. "Did you make it yourself?"

"Ah, no, I didn't." I bashfully replied, scratching my cheek. "I bought it as a lucky find after Glory Girl helped me out."

"Speaking of helping out, thanks for helping out with my mom." Glory Girl sincerely stated in appreciation. "I really owe you one for taking the heat off me."

Clockblocker leaned back in dramatic surprise. "Whoa! You held off Brandish?!" He then leaned towards me, as if seeing me for the first time. "Are you sure you're a girl, cause you have big brass-Gah!" Gallant's gauntlet up side the head stopped the joker cold.

"Be nice, Clock." The armored teen scolded mildly.

I had to ask, pointing to towards the white clad boy. "Is he always like this?"

"Unfortunately." Gallant replied, though I could hear the lilt of humor in his tone.

"You louts just don't get good humor." Clockblocker tried to defend himself, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Once you find some, let me know, okay?" Glory Girl countered, with exaggerated cuteness.

I couldn't help but smile at their antics.

Soon enough, a waiter entered the room and took our orders; I chose some bacon, cheese fries. Of course, the conversation also wandered to how I met Glory Girl and my experience as a hero. I think she was pleased that I downplayed her mistake in punching me but played up her help with getting my coat.

"You know, costume repairs can be a problem for independent heroes." Gallant said, setting down his soda. His facemask had retracted the bottom portion, revealing his chin and mouth. "Joining the Wards can help with those costs."

Glory Girl just rolled her eyes. "Please tell me you're not trying to recruit her right now."

Gallant just shrugged apologetically. "It's part of the job."

"Gallant." The blonde flying brick said the name with a warning tone, narrowing her eyes.

"I think I'll decline for now." I cut in, trying to defuse the situation. The look in Glory Girl's eye towards the silvery clad hero seemed to say she wasn't completely done with him, just delaying it.

"It's all cool." Clockblocker responded after swallowing his bite of greaseball burger. "G's going to give you a card anyways, no matter what GG says, so just give us a call if you want to patrol or hang out."

True to Clockblocker's word, Gallant slid a business card across the table. It had the Ward's official number on it. The rest of the meal was taken up by Clockblocker telling stories of the other Wards, completely transparent about how he was playing himself up. After a while, though, Gallant stated it was time to leave, though he did pay for everything on the PRT's dollar. Apparently this could be considered an official meeting because of me.

We split up not long after but we still had some group photos taken of us, even posing for a minute or two.

I had a lot of fun meeting the three heroes and held out hope that maybe, just maybe, I could make some friends again.

o0O0o

PHO Interlude

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 **Topic: Brockton Bay Hero - Respawn  
** **In: Boards Brockton Bay Heroes**

 **Bagrat** (Original Poster) (Guy in the Know)  
Posted on 18 February 2011:

Okay guys, seems like we have a new hero in Brockton Bay. Yes, I know I'm not the first to post about her on PHO but I'm making a consolidated thread now that we do know she's a hero.

Name: Respawn  
Classification: Hero  
Affiliation: Independent  
Powers: Unknown - It's assumed that she has a power to 'Respawn' but what that exactly means is just speculation  
Ratings:  
Brute 3 (Unofficial)  
Trump 1 (Unofficial)

Pictures: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven and Eight  
Video: One, Two and Three

She was spotted in the company of Glory Girl for street photos, as reference to linked pics, as well as Gallant and Clockblocker, pics linked as well.  
As written above, her powers are unknown (but guessable) and her PRT ratings are unofficial. I have no info on the Trump rating but we can assume the Brute is because of her 'Respawn' powers of some sort.  
Finally, our new hero has already completed her first heroic action for Brockton Bay. In fact, she did it five days ago by capturing and turning in a Merchant drug warehouse with Glory Girl.  
I personally think is a good thing that Brockton Bay has another hero in it's cadre, Independent or not.

 _EDIT: At the request of the mods and the PHO forum rules: Don't speculate as to a Cape's civilian identity. Capes keep secret identities for a reason; usually to protect their civilian lives, family and friends. Also, if you guess wrong, you could be sending villains at an innocent person because of your 'guessing'._

 **Blizzardio** (Verified Cape)  
Replied on 18 February 2011

I'm up in Boston but it's always good to hear about new heros. Wish her luck in her hero career!  
I do hope she's at least told her parents about being an active hero...

 **RustyTommy  
** Replied on 18 February 2011

She knocked over a Merchant warehouse?! F- yeah! F- those drug dealing bastards!

 **HarryNed  
** Replied on 18 February 2011

As a Brockton Bay native, I think it's great that we've got another hero to deliver justice. Even better to hear she's taking on the Merchants already! They've been a blight on our city for too long. Wish the PRT would actually do something about them…  
With her being spotted with the Wards, I wonder if she's considering joining them. Even if I'm happy to have another hero, I'm not sure how I feel about one so young fighting the good fight instead of the adults.

 **ChildoftheLord  
** Replied on 18 February 2011

She is a heretic that defiles all that is Holy in this world! The domain of death and life is providence only unto the Lord and Savior!  
Cheer not for this abomination of all that is Good! His holy light will cleanse the world of those of her ilk!

 **MarkyMark  
** Replied on 18 February 2011

Wishing her luck in her hero career!

 **DevilsLuck  
** Replied on 18 February 2011

[Deleted by Moderator]  
 _(While I disagree with ChildoftheLord's statement, your post violates forum rules by threatening physical harm. Calm down on your 1 Week ban. - TinMother)_

 **CatDagger218  
** Replied on 18 February 2011

Wow, have you seen her face in the few pics where she lowers her hood? Man, she looks cute. Wonder if she has a boyfriend civilian side…

 **GrandPooBear  
** Replied on 18 February 2011

ChildoftheLord Leave your bible thumping craziness in whatever dump of a church let you out of your cage. Go jump in a tire fire, you mouth breathing idiot.  
As for Respawn, hope she stays safe even with her name alluding to some sort of regeneration power.

 **Uolkionaf  
** Replied on 18 February 2011

While I wish this new hero good luck, isn't it too soon for estimations of their ratings? She could rate anywhere from a self-Panacea to Alabaster or even Wolverine levels of healing, if that's how her powers work. For all we know, she literally comes back to life after death, like some villains have used in the past.

o0O0o

22 Feb - Late Evening

After a few days of patrolling with Glory Girl or the Wards, I was getting tired of these 'public relations' patrols. Too much time standing around posing and having pictures taken of me. At first I thought it was just social anxiety but I finally realised it was the fact we weren't actually 'doing' anything.

Oh, I had fun being around the other teen heroes but it was time to do some real good. That's why I was prowling the alleys bordering the ABB and E88 territory.

Not really sure this was the best night to be patrolling though. It was clear when I left home but not twenty minutes after I started walking, a thick snow started falling. That was over half an hour ago. I mean, it's not snowing sideways or anything but I can see the snow building up. I think I've got another thirty minutes to an hour before I have to head back home.

One of the biggest problems with the snow, other than the problems with traction, was the fact that it acted worse than fog. With fog, your visibility drops depending on how thick it is. With snow, you lose visibility and the snow absorbs sounds, so everything is quieter. I guess it works both ways but I'm trying to find the bad guys, not hide from them… at least not right now.

So, here I am, tromping through the darkness, barely able to see five yards ahead of me. Fun times.

Anyways, that explains why I turned a corner and literally ran into a E88 patrol. Of course, that doesn't explain why the guy I bumped into immediately shot me in the face.

I did mention how uncomfortable being shot was, right? At least getting brain blown out is instant pain.

"Motherfucker!"

My shout echoed off the nearby alley walls, a stillness settling over the area. The E88 patrol looking at me and I looking at them. I blinked though, as I recognized the albino man in a coal black SS-like outfit as Alabaster, one of the E88 capes.

Another gunshot.

Alabaster shot me in the face… again.

"God damnit, that stings!"

He shot me a third time.

"Stop that!" I yelled as I unconsciously burned the stored charges and slammed my right fist through his gut.

He tilted his head down idly and we both looked at my arm. It literally went through his gut. I tried pulling it back out but it was stuck. Let me tell you, feeling someone's insides with your gloved hand is… disquieting, but Alabaster didn't even seem like he felt it. One of the goons behind the E88 cape threw up.

Oddly, a couple seconds later Alabaster and I were a few feet apart, like I'd respawned but it wasn't me doing it. Seems like his powers aren't completely like mine, though, as there's now a fist sized hole in his costume showing unblemished pale white skin. I didn't look but I could feel his blood had vanished from my arm as well.

"Interesting." His voice was smooth, cultured… detached, as he holstered his pistol. Slowly, methodically, he pulled out a large switchblade and flipped it into full extension. In response, I slowly pulled out my own bowie knife.

Have you ever seen someone so placid that it looks like nothing can faze them. You know, like if you set off a bomb near them or told them their dog just died, they'd just sit there continuing whatever they were doing without a care in the world. That's the vibe I got from Alabaster… until we both had knives in our hands.

You know, slasher smile is an aptly named description.

"Uh… boss?" Wow, that's a brave goon.

"Leave us."

Huh, all three goons turned tail and ran back into the snowy night. Well, I guess it's not much of a surprise. I wouldn't want to deal with an immortal with a knife if I were them and here were two ready to face off.

I looked back towards the white clad albino man, his finger idly caressing the edge of his blade. "This is going to be a bad time, isn't it."

"Oh, on the contrary, we're about to embark on a grand adventure!" Somehow, this didn't comfort me.

"I think I need an adult."

"My dear, I am an adult."

Pre-fight banter, complete. Round 1... start!

Okay, ever since I looted this knife off that guy who one shot me I've been practicing with it off and on. You know, during a boring patrol I'll stop and practicing thrusts or slashes with it. Really, I was just getting used to actually wielding the damn thing.

Boy, did that show, as Alabaster cut me to pieces… sometimes literally.

I mean, the first exchange was the standard face off stare down until he was suddenly inside my guard, knife already through my throat. It happened so fast that I still don't know exactly how he did it but his knife was jammed so far through my neck it severed my spine. At least, I think that's what happened as I lost all feeling other than the searing pain in my neck.

Then we reset, due to my powers this time.

I'd love to say I gave as good as I got, but that would be a lie. All I can really say is that Alabaster was way out of my league. If it wasn't for my power, I'd be a dead girl… so many times over it'd be hilarious. You know, like that baseball game in that Bugs Bunny cartoon, where it was basically a conga line of points for the other team. That kind of ridiculous.

Of course, I had powers, so with each death I gained some charge. The first couple times I used any, I got Alabaster back good. Like, I shoved my knife right through his neck like he did me! Would have felt amazing if it wasn't for the disinterested look in his eyes, even if he still had that creepy smile on.

Lucky bastard doesn't feel any pain!

I don't know how long this went on for… sort of got lost in the rhythm of death and respawn, all the while snow fell gently around us.

All I know is that after the third or fourth time I used any charges, Alabaster dodged. Oh, he still got cut but instead of jamming my knife through his gut, he came out with only a thin line along his side. I got the slight view of oozing crimson before it reverted to unblemished snow white. Then, he retaliated by stabbing my kidney while I was overextended.

Had he completely read me by then? Was there a tell whenever I used charges? I don't know but the next time he dodged, it was damage free. It was the same every time after that, too.

Hell, like I said, I don't know how long this went on for. What I do know is how it ended; abruptly and with the sound of sirens.

Endbringer Sirens.

Somewhere in the world, one of the three Endbringers were on the move to attack. It was an agreed upon signal to all heroes and villains to cease fire and a call to arms. The general idea was banding together against the greater evil to save the world, survival of the human race trumping personal conflicts.

Alabaster stepped back and sheathed his switchblade with a series of flashy flips. I just stood there in shocked fear. It took me a moment to realise that the albino man had wandered away into the falling snow, leaving me there in solitude, the warbling sirens echoing into the late evening air. Suddenly, I burst into movement, sprinting away into the night as one thought ran through my mind.

Dad was going to kill me!

Had I not been panicking, I would have been more worried about the giant death machine that could be headed towards Brockton Bay at that very instant. Thankfully, the Endbringer, Behemoth this time, wasn't even targeting the western hemisphere. I didn't know that at the time, though.

I did know that Dad thought I was in bed asleep and once he found me missing, shit was going to hit the fucking fan. When I got home and found every light on, I knew I was screwed.

Mind racing a mile a minute, I tried to think of anyway to get out of this predicament. Problem was, I was already caught and no matter what I did, Dad would be asking questions…

Shit.

One thing was certain; standing outside my home in my Respawn costume was just adding unnecessary risk. Letting out a large sigh, I fished out my keys and entered the house.

Seeing Dad leap up from the couch and jerk to face me, I let out another sigh as I closed the front door behind me. "Hey, Dad. I'm home."

I had barely finished speaking when he reached me to envelope me in a tight hug. "Thank God you're alright!"

Hearing the relief in his voice made me feel like an utter heel. As the seconds went by, I waited for the hammer to fall. It didn't take long.

Dad stepped back sharply, gripping my shoulders while his face changed from relief to restrained fury. "Taylor Anne Hebert! Where the hell were you?! What the hell are you wearing?! And do you understand how… hard I'm trying not to yell right now?!" He sternly demanded, his voice tightly constrained to a conversational volume. The veins throbbing on his forehead and sharp eyes made me flinch as he flipped the hood of my coat back off my head.

I couldn't find any words, just staring at my feet.

"Well?!" He shook my shoulders a bit, shocking me out of my thoughts. "Answer me!"

"I'm a Cape... A Hero!" I cried out, eyes hardening with my words, as if daring him to try and take that from me. What can I say, I'm my father's daughter; letting anger hide my fear and worry.

"A Cape?" He asked in disbelief before frowning and giving me another shake. "You think dressing up in… in this fancy coat makes you a cape?!"

I shove his hands off my shoulders and ripped off my face mask to glare at my father. "I'm not 'dressing up'! I have powers and I'm a hero!"

"Oh, you have powers! That makes it all better!" Dad sarcastically replied, waving a hand in the air as he turned and walked back into the living room. He jerked around to face me once more. "You're fifteen! I don't care what powers you think you have, you're not a hero! You just a stupid teenager who's going to get yourself killed!"

"I can't die!" I yelled back.

Dad just shook his head with a growl. "Annette couldn't either until she did!"

He… How dare he use Mom against me! I screamed out and...

I found myself breathing heavily, knife in hand. Dad was sitting on the floor looking up at me, face drained of blood as he looked up at me in shock and… and fear. It took a few moments to realise what had just happened… what I'd just done.

I just sliced open my own throat in front of my father. I… His own daughter just killed herself right in front of him!

My legs collapsed under me, dropping me to my knees. I barely felt them bounce off the hard floor as the knife fell from my hand to clatter on the tile.

All I could do was stare into the wide eyes of my dad staring back at me in shock. My jaw worked itself but my constricted voice just wouldn't work. In the living room, the TV serenaded us with the news anchor explaining the Endbringers.

All that anger and fear that had flooded me before was gone. All that remained was shame; pure unadulterated shame of a child who did the unthinkable to her father.

"I… I…" The dam failed and I broke down with a sob. "I'm sorry!"

I guess after I broke down into a blubbering mess, Dad came over and wrapped me up in his arms, trying his best to comfort me. That just made me feel even worse, the guilt of what I'd just done… it wrecked me. I tried to push away but he kept holding me. Finally, I just gave up trying.

When I eventually cried myself dry, I found myself on the couch wrapped in Dad's arms. I guess he picked me up and carried me here. Was I really still that tiny?

"I'm sorry."

I blinked and looked up towards his face. He was still looking towards the television but I could see his own eyes red and dried tear tracks on his face. I was just shocked that he was apologizing to me!

"Why? I'm the one that…" My haggard voice couldn't complete the sentence, my throat constricting again.

Dad just sighed. "Because I'm the adult and should… need to be responsible." He rubbed the top of my head while letting out another sigh. "If I had kept control of my temper, we could have talked instead of… this."

Silence fell over us while the man on TV finished talking about Behemoth, or at least what was known about it. It then switched to an analyst talking about the Middle East.

"Dad… I'm sorry."

"I know, kiddo." He somehow managed a light chuckle. "You just have the misfortune to have my temper and your mother's defiant determination." This chuckle was a little stronger. "You should have seen her during college. She wouldn't take flack from anyone."

I managed a small smile at hearing about Mom but it didn't last. "I won't stop being Respawn."

Dad sighed, hugging me with one arm as he muted the TV. "I… I wish you wouldn't." I stiffened slightly at that. "But, I understand. I don't like it but I understand."

"Thanks."

Dad took a deep breath, probably to steel his nerves. "So, you're going to be a hero?"

We had a long conversation about my burgeoning hero career and plans for the future. Dad still wasn't happy with the fact I planned on throwing myself into danger, even after telling him about my powers. I'm a little surprised though that all he wanted me to do was keep him in the loop. Considering what happened this time, I don't think that's too much to ask.

All the while, the silent television continued reporting about the seismic activity narrowing down Behemoth's target.

o0O0o

PHO Interlude

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 **Topic: Behemoth - Cairo, Egypt  
** **In: Boards Endbringer Attacks**

 **YamerJammer** (Moderator)  
Posted on 23 February 2011:

On 23 February 2011 at 1328 Eastern Standard Time, the Endbringer known as Behemoth attacked Cairo, Egypt.  
On 23 February 2011 at 1632 Easter Standard Time the combined efforts of all parahuman volunteers drove Behemoth into retreat.

Official numbers on civilian casualties are still being tallied but are estimated to be between 750k to 2.5m This will be updated once a more accurate census is taken.  
Parahuman casualties are listed HERE. Out of 274 parahuman volunteers, 158 are critically injured or deceased.  
Economic damage to Egypt or the surrounding countries is unknown.  
Current estimations for reconstruction is over $14.2b US Dollars. Initial reports also show radioactive residue in parts of the city, however, which will hinder reconstruction.  
If you wish to make a donation for relief efforts of survivors, THIS PAGE contains a list of help organizations.  
If you wish to make a donation towards any deceased parahuman volunteer's surviving family, THIS PAGE contains a list of participating organizations.

 _NOTE: This thread is locked to maintain official releases of updates and notices._

o0O0o

23 February - Evening

I laid on my bed looking at the cell phone in my hand. Respawn's phone. Flipping it open, I pulled up Glory Girl on the contacts list.

Letting out a breath, I pressed the Call button.

"Hello?" Glory Girl answered after a couple rings.

"Hey, it's Respawn."

"Hey…" She sounded pretty tired. "What's up?"

"I… I just wanted to see how you're holding up. You know, after…" After your family went to fight Behemoth.

"I'm okay, just tired." She let out a single tired laugh, but it held little emotion. "Kind of hard to relax when you're stuck here and they're out there, you know?"

"Yeah, I can understand, I guess." After everything with my Dad, I could definitely understand what she might be going through. "How is everyone?"

Glory Girl sighed, her exhaustion coming over the connection. "Amy… Panacea was able to save Uncle Neil… Manpower. Now he's just sleeping off the exhaustion but he's fine. Everyone else is still guarding Amy as she does her thing over in Cairo. If I know her, she's going to try saving every single person she can until she collapses herself."

"And you're worried about her."

"Damn right, I am! They wouldn't let me go, so I'm stuck holding down the fort." I could hear the frustration in her voice.

"Sounds like you're a good sister, Glory Girl."

"Call me Vikki."

I blink in surprise. Yeah, I already knew her real name, Victoria Dallon, it was common knowledge due to her family's fame. I thought it was part of the unwritten rules not to use it though…

"Ah.. call me Taylor, then."

"Okay, Taylor. Thanks."

"No problem." I pause for a moment, trying to think of what to say. "Are you going to be okay?"

Glory Gi… Vikki sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for calling."

"No problem." Thinking about it, I decided to return the favor. "Hey, give me a call when you want to do a patrol, okay? We can go beat up some ABB or something."

"That sounds like fun. I'll give you a call then, thanks. Sorry I'm not much to talk to right now but…"

"You're worried and tired, I understand. Just… give me a call if you need anything, okay?"

I think I heard her smile. "Yeah. Sounds good. Thanks, Taylor." A noise came over from her side. "Hey, I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye." I barely got that out before the connection ended.

Dropping the phone beside me, I let out a breath as I thought about the Endbringers. What would I do if I had to fight one? Could I even fight one?

o0O0o

End of Chapter 2

o0O0o

A/N

For some of the name typos... I really hate my auto-correct software sometimes.

GrumpyCat42  
The charges she gains each respawn can only be used offensively. The 'invulnerability' aspect of the power is only to allow the offensive maneuver to complete successfully. I.E. She doesn't break her hand/arm if she punches a brick wall while spending a charge.

Sudokori1  
Taylor being OOC is two things, this is an AU and powers affect the user's mind with some more than others. Powers want to be used and Taylor has to be more aggressive/reckless to use it.  
As for the school not bringing up the door, it's already proven that the school is corrupt. Why would they want to bring more scrutiny on themselves by bringing in the PRT for an investigation?

Guest  
Dumb Phones that plug into the phone jack run off of the DC voltage which is independent of the 120V 60Hz AC outlet power.

Helkil  
I don't plan on taking Taylor that far, sorry.

Fellowman  
Flashbang, Panacea, ClockBlocker, Hookwolf, Skitter… If you look at it, quite a lot of Capes have names relative to their power. The important thing is her name doesn't give away all her powers.


	3. Chapter 3

Keep Calm and Respawn

A Worm Fanfiction

By: Konsaki

 **25 Feb – Evening**

Gunshots rang out into the evening air.

If I had the breath, I'd have cursed like a dock worker. Instead, I stabbed my chest and forced a respawn; my sprint never leaving its staccato cadence down the alley. Hurdling a stack of wooden pallets with my left arm, I slid the knife back in its sheath with my right.

More gunshots rang out, a pistol firing to my left. It took me a second to orient due to the echoes but I turned at the next intersection. My shoes ate ground, the alley opening into a side street and into the alley on the other side.

Got to wonder what people think, seeing a girl sprinting full blast across the street, her crimson coat flapping behind her like a badass. At least, I hope it looked badass.

Now back in the shadows of another alley, I slowed down to a trot before stabbing myself again. Holding my breath a moment, I listened to the now silent area of Brockton Bay.

There, to the north! Breaking out into another sprint, I follow the alley until I turned a corner and screeched to a halt.

Before me was Glory Girl and three ABB goons. Well, Glory Girl was talking into her cell phone, stressing out and pleading. The goons were on the ground and… Yeah, that guy doesn't look healthy.

Force another respawn, to catch my breath, before moving over to the goon in question. Blood at the mouth and nose, breathing ragged and cradling right arm… yeah, he looked in bad shape. Worse, his eyes held terror as they looked at me.

"…know, but please, Ames!" Glory Girl's begging into her phone finally drifted into my ears. She let out a relieved breath. "Thank you! You're the best sis ever!" There was quick pause before the blonde spouted out our location and hung up.

"What the hell?!"

Glory Girl startled at my question. If I was honest with myself, I was a little loud and angry. Maybe it had something to do with the ganger nearby who could be dying as we speak.

"Oh, it's you." She replied with a breath, running a hand through her long golden hair. "Don't worry, Ames is headed over to fix him."

It took a moment to compute in my head. Ames… Amy Dallon… Panacea. The super heal anything hero of New Wave. Panacea could touch someone, diagnose the condition of their bodies and heal them all in a few minutes.

Panacea had also just gotten back from Egypt earlier this morning, based off what Glory Girl had said earlier.

The goon let out a wet ragged cough before groaning.

"What if he dies before she gets here?"

"He won't." Her reply was way too fast. It wasn't even an option in her mind.

I let out a breath, trying to keep my calm. It was kind of hard to do, what with the way Glory Girl basically abandoned me early on in the 'patrol' while I spent the majority of it just trying to keep up. Then I find her standing over bodies and acting like nothing's wrong now that her sister's on the way.

Needless to say, I wasn't having a good time.

"Fine. What happened?" I asked her, trying to keep my voice from clipping with irritation.

"They were mugging some guy and I stopped them."

Silence hung over the alley for a moment as I processed her almost blasé response. I pointed towards the hurt man. "What about that guy?"

"Hey! They had guns!" Glory Girl defended with, pointing towards the pistols on the ground. "I may have an Alexandria package but getting shot still hurts!"

"Okay, fine. Did you call the PRT?"

"I will once Ames gets here and does her thing." Glory Girl at least had the decency to look away and worry her bottom lip.

I took a deep breath and let the matter lie, instead pulling out zip ties from my coat to cuff the unconscious goons' hands and feet. The injured man wasn't going anywhere, so after I finished I moved to lean against the wall where I could see all three ABB gang members.

Then we waited in awkward silence.

Not sure how long it actually took, but eventually Panacea entered the alley…. Though, I guess I should call her Amy since she's out of costume. Either way, she looked the complete opposite of her sister.

Where Vikki had long golden waves, Amy had barely shoulder length chestnut brown curls. Where Vikki was full of energy and mostly upbeat, Amy had a weary, tired look as she sighed at the scene before her. Even her clothes were dark colors of winter wear… stuff that I would wear, really.

"Ames! You're here!" Glory Girl exclaimed in happiness, flying over to hug her sister. Amy just sighed again, though the edges of her lips were twitching upwards.

What played out before me must have been a sibling thing, because it was more like watching a stage play. Glory Girl knew she'd screwed up but wouldn't acknowledge it. Amy knew her sister knew but was too tired to say anything, like this wasn't the first time she was called on to heal someone at her sister's behest.

Once Glory Girl released the brown haired young woman, Amy moved towards the injured man. Kneeling down, she murmured almost as if on autopilot, "Do I have your permission to heal you?"

Of course, the goon was now unconscious so he didn't respond. After a moment, she reached out and touched his hand before jerking slightly. What came out of Amy's mouth next was a litany of broken bones in the guy's arm and ribs, culminating in a punctured lung and bloody pneumonia. It was almost mechanical how she said it but she jerked her head around to look directly at her sister in disbelief. "Vikki, he could have died! Would have died, if he hadn't received immediate medical attention!"

"But he did. You fixed him!" Glory Girl responded, still floating near her sister.

Amy just stared at her sister through brown eyes for a moment before frowning. "But what if I hadn't. He could have died and then what?"

"But he didn't!" Glory Girl cried back in exasperation, planting her hands on her hips. She deflated a moment later, lowering to stand on the ground. "Look, Ames, I know I screwed up but everything's fine now thanks to you. And I really appreciate it!"

Okay, so this was definitely not the first time this had happened, based off how Amy just looked at her taller sister. It was interesting how you could just 'see' when the brunette girl snapped.

"Do you? Do you really appreciate it?!" Amy asked, clenching her hands into fists. "How many times have you hurt someone 'accidently'? How many times have you needed my 'help' to fix your mistakes? How many times have you said it wasn't going to happen again?!"

So… it's getting real awkward just standing here in ABB territory, surrounded by unconscious ABB gang members while listening to two super-powered sisters have a, admittedly deserved, altercation. Reaching in my coat, I extracted my phone and hit the PRT auto-dial while silence hung in the air.

"PRT Hotline. What is the nature of your call?" A male voice responded.

"Hey, I've got three unconscious ABB goons that need picked up." I saw both sisters startle at my voice. Guess Amy never saw me and Glory Girl forgot about me.

"And who is calling?"

"Sorry. This is Respawn. Glory Girl and I stopped a mugging while on a patrol." I rattled off the location, using the same address Glory Girl used earlier. Once I got confirmation that police were on the way, I hung up to find both sisters looking away from each other and looking abashed.

Ah, silence, my old friend.

Glory Girl, with her outward personality, was the first to send silence away but decided to keep awkward around for a bit longer. "Um, so… Amy? This is Respawn. Respawn, Amy."

Now, if you're expecting me to be socially eloquent right now… Well, I've got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you! What actually happened was Amy and I looked at each other for a few seconds before I let out a lame, "Hi."

"Hello." Amy responded in return before pausing. "Sorry you had to see… that." Glory Girl grimaced and rubbed her left arm but stayed silent.

Okay, I might be socially awkward but even I know that's a landmine to avoid. "No problem", to me at least but I'd rather change the topic. Too bad I couldn't think of anything.

It actually turned into another awkward moment before Amy decided to head back home with Glory Girl joining her. Not too long after they left, the police arrived and hauled off the goons while taking a quick statement.

o0O0o

 **26 Feb**

"Inconceivable!"

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." I finished the quote with a smile, trying to imitate the Spaniard's accent, then shared a laugh with my dad.

On the television screen, the Man in Black continued to climb the Cliffs of Insanity.

Dad and I were having a movie day for a change. It was something we used to do a lot more before Mom died. Today, instead of going to the movie theater, we were just watching some older movies for nostalgia's sake.

Yes, that included quoting all the best lines and having a blast.

Snagging another handful of popcorn from the large bowl between us, I settled in to watch the Spaniard toss down a rope to the pursuer trying to climb the cliffs, swearing on his father's grave that it was not a ruse. After a bit of backstory for the Spaniard, the two men got into a grand fencing duel, climbing and jumping all over the landscape.

Sure, I've watched this movie before, but it's an enthralling scene, so I think I can be excused when I missed Dad's words.

"Huh?"

"What do you plan on doing when you grow up?" Dad asked, ignoring the end of the fight playing on screen.

My mind blanked for a moment, the question out of left field throwing me. "What?"

Dad just sighed. "Taylor, you're almost halfway through high school. Now's the time to think about planning ahead."

"Oh." So that's what he was talking about. I cocked my head in thought for a moment. "Well, going to college, I guess. You know, like you and Mom did."

"Okay, that's a start. Any idea on the major?"

"Um…" I had to think about that for a moment. "I guess English Lit or something?"

Dad just sighed as he reached over to ruffle my hair. Yeah, I treated it like a cat rubbed the wrong way, which just made him smirk. "Come on, kiddo. You don't have to have an answer right now but it's something to think about." He booped me on the nose with his index finger, chucking as I swatted at his hand. "Besides, I thought you were all 'Gung-ho' about being a hero."

"I…" I looked down at my hands, clenching and relaxing them. "I don't know."

"Taylor." He used his fingers under my chin to have me look at him. "You're still a kid. You have time to think about all this, so don't worry too much. Just… don't wait till the last minute to make a decision."

"Okay, Dad." I acknowledged with a small smile. "I'll think about it."

"You do that." He smiled back, tucking some of my hair behind an ear. He took a more… Dad posture a moment later. "I do think that if you're serious about this hero thing, you should talk to the PRT about joining the Wards."

I was just opening my mouth to respond but stopped due to Dad already having a finger to my lips.

"I'm not saying you have to join the Wards but you need to at least talk to the PRT and see what they can offer. You can always say no to them but not even listening is just throwing away an opportunity." He explained to me. Knowing how much work he did in the Dock Workers' Union, I actually listened to his words.

"I… I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask, kiddo." He patted my shoulder before taking another sip of his soda.

I just let out a breath as I turned back towards the television. Just like the Man in Black, I now had a giant in front of me blocking my way.

Not sure I can take mine on bare handed, though.

o0O0o

 **28 Feb – Monday**

Uhg… School sucked.

Yeah, I know that's stereotypical teenage tripe but being at Winslow High just sucked the life out of you. Graffiti on the lockers, a few of the hallway lights burnt out and everyone just shuffling from class to class. Hell, even the teachers looked worn out and it was only the first school day of the week.

Math class had just finished, intermediate algebra today, and I had just enough time to visit the girl's room before History class started up.

No, I'm not going into details. Anyways, I had just started trying my hands with some paper towels when the door opened, letting in a rush of chatter from the hallway.

"Taylor Hebert."

I froze at that voice. Slowly, I turned towards it to see Sophia Hess standing in the doorway, a smug smirk on her face. There was something else, though, a hint of frustration.

Great… She's looking to vent and I'm her target punching bag.

"What do you want?"

Her smirk wiped away into a scowl at my tone.

What? I'm tired of being the Trio's bitch and I'm not going to take it anymore! I mean, I took on fucking Alabaster and… well, I didn't win but I held in there and got some good shots in.

What was Sophia Hess, track star of Winslow High, going to do to me that actual villains and criminals hadn't already done? Punch and kick me a few times? Make fun of my hair? Maybe bring up my dead mother… Again?

Yeah, I've had enough and my voice told that fact. Throwing away the used paper towel, I started walking towards the door… and Sophia.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The smug question and the knowledge I was trapped just made my anger flare higher. Even though I stared into her chocolate brown eyes, I could see people standing in the hallway to watch the growing altercation.

"I'm going to class."

Sophia just raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. She obviously wasn't moving and her smirk was taunting me.

Fine.

I started to push past her and she tripped me. I managed to catch myself into just kneeling in the hallway but laughter filled my ears.

Yeah, everyone laugh at poor Taylor Hebert. No, don't help. She's fine and it's all part of the show.

"You're such a klutz. Can't you even walk without falling on your face?"

God damned Sophia Hess!

The hallway was dead silent, save for the gasping of the black girl before me, her hands grabbing her crotch.

Slowly standing up, I let out a breath as I relaxed my hand from the fist I'd shoved up between Sophia's legs. She was lucky, her thick thighs slowed me down slightly or I'd have punched her even harder down there.

"Leave me the fuck alone. I'm done being your punching bag, Hess."

My piece said, I turned around and started walking towards my next class.

Yeah, I'm an idiot… I turned my back on my enemy. Yeah, I paid for it as Sophia sucker punched me from behind.

I think my first hit must be still affecting her, cause her hit only made me stumble but not fall. Still hurt but nothing like the hell of being shot in the gut.

Someone in the crowd cheered and, like a line of dominos, the rest fell in line.

"You're gonna wish you were dead once I'm done with you, bitch." Hess yelled out, slamming her fist into my shoulder. She was aiming for my face but I managed to dodge partially.

"You and what army, Hess!?" I yelled back with my own punch. Of course she dodged that one completely.

I blocked her next punch with my jaw but got her back with a kick to her knee. Her hiss of pain was worth the cut lip.

That was the turning point of the fight. With her knee injured, I managed to completely dodge her next punch.

I slid in and smashed my forehead into her face.

Sophia Hess hit the floor, blood gushing from her nose.

"What the hell is going on here!?"

If the crowd hadn't gone silent from me brutalizing the school track star, it did when Mr Jackson's voice boomed through the hall. A swath was quickly cut thru the mass of bodies as the large and slightly overweight gym teacher broke into the scene. The large black teacher breathed through his nose, like a bull, as he surveyed the scene before him.

On the floor was his track team star, bloody and dazed. Standing above her was an also bleeding but aware school nobody.

"You and you, take her to the nurse." He commanded, pointing to two male track members. Even as they moved to assist the downed girl, he frowned in my direction before clamping a hand down on my shoulder. "You are coming with me."

His head swiveled around on his muscular neck to sweep the now silently observing students. "The rest of you, get to class… NOW!"

While the hallway cleared quickly, he just as quickly dragged me forward via the hand clamped to my shoulder. "Come along."

"Hess started it." Yes, I know. It's a infantile excuse but it's what I said.

"I don't care." Mr Jackson bluntly replied. Of course, why should he? I wasn't anyone important, unlike Sophia. "You can explain yourself to the Principal and she'll sort it out."

Great… Principal Blackwell. Why not skip the investigation and trial and go straight to the execution?

Basically, I'm saying that I'm screwed and just being led to the punishment.

We entered the admin office, finally escaping the gawking students we passed in the hallway. Word travels fast in Winslow… especially when it's about a fight.

Anyways, the admin office was basically a small cramped room with a few uncomfortable plastic chairs on left side, the secretary's desk and filing cabinets on the right and the door to the Principal's office on the back wall.

"Janice." Mr Jackson acknowledged the secretary, who halted her typing at our entrance. "I need to see Ms Blackwell."

"Oh, dear…" The secretary, Janice, fretted slightly, probably at my bloody face. She quickly pulled up something on her computer. "She's free right now."

Mr Jackson nodded before shoving me into one of the seats. "Wait here." He bluntly directed before moving over a knocking solidly twice on the wood door. Hearing permission to enter, he slipped into the private office, closing the door behind him.

I let out a breath, looking towards the floor, as the sound of typing started up once more, Janice getting back to work. It paused a moment later and I blinked as a hand entered my field of vision, holding a few tissues. I glanced up to see the secretary holding them out to me with a small worried look on her face. Gently accepting them, I mumbled my thanks, which she nodded at.

Okay, having a split lip stung. At least, trying to wipe the blood away stung. I quickly learned I needed to dab at it instead.

It was so much easier when I could just kill myself to clean up…

Anyways, it wasn't too much longer before the Principal's door opened up once more, showing a stern looking thin woman in a black pantsuit. She took one glance at me before looking towards her secretary. "Janice, pull Taylor Hebert's file for me, please."

"Yes, Ma'am." Janice replied, quickly unlocking at filing cabinet and pulling out a manila file… my file, apparently.

File now in her hand, Principal Blackwell didn't spare me another look. "Come with me."

I followed her into her office, Mr Jackson looming like a big black bear in one of the corners, his muscular arms crossed over his barrel chest. The Principal moved around her desk and sat in an overly large office chair… the kind you see CEO's in the movies use when they're overcompensating for something. "Sit."

I sat in the relatively tiny wooden seat across from her. Damn was it uncomfortable. Probably the entire point, though, considering the slightly padded chair that rested next to Mr Jackson.

At that point, things went completely off the rails from my expectations.

I expected her to question me. You know, to at least play lip service to 'due process'. Probably have Mr Jackson give a damning statement or something before I got detention for a week. You know, like any other time I got 'in trouble' for something the Trio did but blamed on me.

Instead, Principal Blackwell opened my folder and a drawer to her desk. She pulled out two sheets of paper, what they were I couldn't see from my angle. The chair I sat in had the laptop screen between me and whatever she was writing or filling out.

Those minutes were like nails on a chalkboard, with just the sounds of her pen scratching onto paper filling the office.

"Princi-"

"Silence!"

She didn't raise her voice or even stop her pen moving but Principal Blackwell's voice cut me off cold.

Okay, that's my nerves ratcheting up a few notches.

Finally, she set her pen down onto her solid wood desk with a light click that might as well been the bang of a judge's gavel. She used a hole-punch on one of the pieces of paper and added it to my file before closing the manila folder and setting it aside.

The other piece of paper, a form, she handed to me.

"Suspended?!" I jerked my eyes from the paper to the stone faced woman across the desk from me. "You're suspending me?!"

"Effective immediately." Principal Blackwell confirmed.

"Why?!"

"Assault against another student with intent to cause physical harm." She clinically replied. It was verbatim what she'd filled out on the suspension form. Before I could say anything else, she continued. "Your parent or guardian can appeal my decision. Mr Jackson will now escort you off the premises."

The next few minutes were a blur but I was escorted to my locker to get my backpack and then to the street where Mr Jackson waited until I finally started walking home.

By the time I made it home, I was pissed; like, 'punching things' pissed. My pillow took the abuse.

Calming down some, I now worried about what Dad was going to think. Really, how Dad was going to handle it.

Turns out, he handled it amazingly well… like, I wondered 'who is this man and what did he do to my dad' levels of out of character.

After reading the suspension form, Dad just took off his glasses to rub his eyes as he let out a deep breath. I was sitting on the couch, worrying my hands while waiting for the explosion to happen.

Pulling over a chair from the dinner table, he sat down with a sigh. "Okay. Tell me what happened."

I told him. I told him everything. The Trio, the bullying, the fight and how I got suspended. It… it took a while.

Through it all, he was silent, barring a few questions for clarification. No judgment. No blame. No pity. No shame.

Finally, I ran out of things to say and silence reigned over the living room.

Eventually, he broke it by asking a simple question. "Who attacked first?"

"She tripped me."

"But she didn't hit you." Dad calmly countered, hands clasped between his knees as he rest his elbows on his thighs.

That brought me up short, my mouth moving but nothing coming out for a moment. "But she started it!"

"But you threw the first punch," Dad again calmly countered with a sigh, "and that's the crux of the problem."

"What?" I weakly replied, not expecting this entire scenario and dreading the conclusion.

"Taylor… I can't fight this." He finally declared, indicating the form lying on the coffee table.

"No…"

"No matter what happened before this, you threw the first punch and everything she did after could be argued as self-defense." He calmly continued over my whispered objection.

"But… but she hit me after I turned to leave!" I cried out, gaining some steam.

"Which puts her in the wrong, too." Dad acquiesced with a nod but let out another breath. "But that's still after you assaulted her first. If I tried to appeal this suspension, the appeal will fail."

I was stunned before I clenched my fists and growled. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Taylor…"

"She and those other two… assholes, make my life a living hell for almost two years…"

"Taylor."

"…and get away with it but the moment I stand up for myself…"

"Taylor!"

"…I get suspended?! What the fuck?! How is that-"

"TAYLOR!"

I shock to silence as Dad takes a quick breath. I sit back down on the couch, while Dad never even left his chair.

"Taylor," he starts again, voice that forced calm that I'd heard him use while working at the Union office. He halts for a moment, taking another breath and running a hand through his hair. "Damn it all… I wish I'd known about all this before… well, before this."

Silence.

"I told you." I whispered, looking at the hands in my lap.

"What?" Dad was surprised.

"I told you." I responded more confidently, looking up into his confused eyes. "After it started but you were still just running on auto because of… Mom."

"Oh."

More silence.

Dad finally stood up, only to sit down with me on the couch. Wrapping me up in a one arm hug, he let out a tired breath. "So much I've missed because… I'm a horrible father."

"No, you're not."

"I feel like I am." Dad muttered, hugging me closer before relaxing. We sat there for a long while before he spoke once again. "You know you're grounded, right?"

I blinked at that as it percolated into my mind. "Wait… what?"

"Yup, you're grounded from sun up until four o'clock."

Wait. That didn't make any sense… that's the same hours as… "That's school hours."

"Huh. I guess they are." Dad's amused voice rolled over me as I felt him shake with contained chuckles. "Consider yourself punished and I expect you to reflect on your actions and what you might have missed in class."

"Are you serious?!" I pulled back to look into his eyes, not believing what I was hearing.

Dad calmed down but still smiled and I knew the smile was real because it was in his eyes. "Yes, I'm being serious. If the school asks if I'm disciplining my child, you were grounded the entire week."

"The fact that I'd just normally be trapped in class is just a happy coincidence." I skeptically added.

"Well, if you don't think it's enough…"

"No! No, I'm good!" I'm not ashamed to admit I panicked a little.

"Alright, then. Now, that that's taken care of, let's go get some dinner."

I quirked an eyebrow at my father as he stood up and held a hand down to me. Accepting the assist, I stood with him but kept the look. "Wait… after all that, we're going out to eat too?"

"I'm thinking 'Taco don Nacho'." He replied, moving over to put on a thin jacket. The weather was turning mild recently, an early spring right around the corner.

So, against all expectations, I got a slap on the wrist from Dad and some pretty good Hispanic food for dinner. I mean, I'm not going to look this gift horse in the mouth, it's definitely not the best outcome but it's definitely not the worst case either!

All in all, I think I'll roll with it.

o0O0o

 **1 Mar – Evening**

Okay, this week was weird.

Winning a fight against Hess, getting suspended from school, Dad just giving me a slap on the wrist… yeah, all crazy events I never imagined happening ever, let alone in that order.

Add on Dad winning two tickets to a play that Parian was part of? Okay… who the hell got God drunk and what is he drinking?

I guess some context for the uninformed would be nice.

Parian is pretty much the most famous Rogue in Brockton Bay. You know, not Hero but not Villain either. She just does her own thing and lets the world to its thing. Just so happens, her thing is cloth manipulation and she uses it to make and control puppets for the plays.

Oh, and these aren't like small puppets on a string type puppets but puppets the size of cars. Like, there are pictures of her riding on top of a giant pink teddy bear's head kind of big. There are also pictures of the same bear flipping a bus back on its side, so they're strong too.

No, Parian wasn't sitting on its head during that stunt.

Anyways, we were at the theater watching the play on stage. It was a comedy of errors involving a Blacksmith who was pretending to be a knight and got caught in his own web of lies by being tasked by the King to save the Princess from the evil dragon. So the knight, who is really a Blacksmith, somehow gathers a small party of a Hunter, Monk and a Farmer who help him in completely accidental ways. Eventually, the party of erstwhile heroes arrives at the dragon's lair to find the Princess berating the dragon like a henpecked husband.

We were just witnessing the dragon, animated by Parian but voiced by an unhidden stagehand, beg the party to save him from the Princess when everything went off the rails…

Well, the screams of fear from the back of the room was definitely a signal of that, at least.

"Stay in your seats or else."

As the play came to a screeching halt, I jerked around in my seat to look back at whoever said that. It was a bare chested man with a steel wolf mask on his face.

Shit, Hookwolf and… Alabaster.

"Not calling the police will prolong your lifespan as well." the albino man added, wearing his coal grey SS-like uniform.

Shit. Shit. Shit… I didn't have my coat! I mean, I had my half mask and…

"Dad!" I hissed in a whisper.

"What?" he whispered back, worry in his eyes.

"Give me your hat!" I told him as I kneeled in the foot space between my seat and the row in front of me. I was already pulling my half mask on.

"What?!" he hissed back in shock. "There's no way that-"

"Dad! Just give me the hat!" I looked him in the eyes. "Just… I'll see you at home."

"Tay…" Dad glanced around nervously, seeing something that I couldn't due to my hiding. He took a breath but passed down his black knit cap. "Fine but… I love you."

"Love you, too. Just stay safe." I whispered back while stuffing my hair into the cap as I put it on. As a final thing, I pulled on my jacket and patted the knife hidden in its inner pocket.

Considering that both E88 capes were on each side of me, walking on the main aisles, I crawled along the floor under the seats. For once, being a thin girl was working in my favor. Also working in my favor was the fact that the theater wasn't packed, leaving gaps for me to crawl through.

I'm just glad no one freaked out at the girl crawling along the floor and gave the game away.

While I wormed my way along the floor, I heard the E88 goons, Hookwolf mainly, demand Parian join the E88 or risk her audience's health.

Crawling under the final row, I breathed a sigh of relief at not being caught before slipping through the open entrance. Not sure why the two capes didn't close them but I'll take the freebie.

Flipping open my cellphone, I hit the PRT hotline and dialed.

"PRT Hotline. What is the nature of your emergency?" A twenty something's man's voice came over the phone.

"This is Respawn. I'm at the Lancaster Theater and Hookwolf and Alabaster just took everyone hostage."

"Just so I understand, you are an independent hero, Respawn, reporting that Hookwolf and Alabaster are holding people hostage at the Lancaster Theater."

"Yeah, that's right. They're after Parian... You know, a join us or their blood is on your hands thing."

"Understood. A PRT task force is enroute."

"Cool. I'm headed back in to keep them busy."

"Wai-"

I had already hit the End button before even realising he had more to say… oh well.

Okay, so next big decision: Hookwolf or Alabaster?

Well, I know where I stand with Alabaster… You know, him outclassing me in a fight but have no idea how to fight Hookwolf. So, is this a 'devil you know' or a 'take a roll of the dice' decision…

A scream from inside caused me to peek through the door. Shit. Alabaster was flicking blood from his knife while wielding a pistol in his other hand. Hookwolf is on stage with Parian.

Time for a knife fight: part two.

Pulling out my Bowie knife, I started sneaking back into the theater. I hid at the end of the aisle, waiting for the nazi cape to turn his attention back to the front where his compatriot 'conversed' with the cloth cape.

Now or never!

I quickly but quietly stalked down the aisle, knowing I'd only get one chance to disarm him from his gun. It just so happened that I have quite a bit of experience with how cutting your arm can mess with your hand strength. Self mutilation for the win!

Luck was with me, I managed to stab into his arm and pry the pistol from his weakened grip. Well, he did get one shot off but it went into the floor, so... no harm, no foul I guess.

I chunked the pistol out the open doors I'd just snuck back through… or I tried to. It landed somewhere in the middle of the rows of seating so… good enough?

"Ah… If it isn't Little Red Riding Hood." Alabaster's cultured voice monotoned out.

"Sorry, coat's in the cleaners." I quipped back. Interesting at how easy it is when I'm in Hero Mode. Wonder if it's a mental thing… Concentrate, girl!

"A shame," the albino replied, pulling out a second switchblade for his now empty off-hand.

"Okay, now that's not fair." I complained, hearing some of the audience escape behind me.

"Now, now, my dear. If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying to win." The man answered, the manic grin slowly enveloping his face one again.

"I'll keep that in HOLY SHIT!" I yelled diving into the chairs as Hookwolf crashed into his partner.

If people were slowly escaping before, it was a mad screaming rush to the exits now. By the time Hookwolf and Alabaster had untangled themselves, the place was mostly cleared out.

Oh, and Hookwolf was now a literal wolf made of hooks and other sharp, pointy bits.

"Sorry but I thought you could use the help." A young woman's voice called out.

"No problem!" I called back to Parian. "Ah… which one do you want?"

"Neither but such is life." Okay, I snorted a laugh at that.

Then Alabaster shot me in gut… twice. Okay, so he had two pistols. Thankfully the second shot hit my heart.

"Stop that!" I yelled at him. "We already established bullets don't work!"

He immediately shot me in the face in response.

"Asshole!"

Hookwolf yelled out a battle howl and charged back towards Parian. Considering it took him right past me, I think he expected Alabaster's bullets to do something other than piss me off.

"Yah!" I screamed out, burning the two charges I gained to punch Hookwolf right in the face.

You ever see those old cartoons where Wile E Coyote smashes into a wall and pancakes or whatever you call that? Hookwolf pretty much did the same thing before crashing back through six or seven rows of seats.

Parian had also taken the initiative to attack Alabaster with her dragon doll while a chubby teddy bear played shield for her on stage. I mean, I didn't know this at the time but that's what she told me she did.

"Come on, Mr Big Bad Wolf! Little Red's got another knuckle sandwich for you!" Well, I didn't really but I needed to keep him busy so he didn't double team Parian.

You know, being torn to bits by a metal wolf the size of a sedan isn't a very fun way to die. I mean, yeah, the sharp metal teeth bite and tear but every other part of him slices and dices at the same time. I'm just thankful that my power finally figured out that 'under a murder-wolf' isn't a 'safe place' to be and respawned me elsewhere. You know, it only took it three or four times to figure out that conundrum.

Anyways, that's why there's now a wolf shaped hole in the wall.

Wait… no. Me kicking Hookwolf through the wall is the reason… Nevermind.

I turned at the sound of Alabaster's sprint, though I didn't expect him to sprint towards the new hole in the wall. It was only after he lept through that I heard the siren quickly growing on the air.

Soon after, a woman burst into the theatre and yelled out, "Freeze! PRT!"

"Miss Militia?!" I cried out in wonder. I mean, it was easy to guess, considering the olive drab uniform and American flag scarf… you know, and the glowing green assualt rifle butted against her shoulder.

"Identify yourself!" The PRT hero called out, causing me to flinch back.

"Ah… I'm Respawn?" I was still kind of thrown off. I mean, going from beating the E88 capes to staring down Ms Militia's rifle. It's a little jarring, you know?

"She helped me fend off Hookwolf and Alabaster." Parian pitched in as she strolled up the aisle.

"Roger that." The PRT hero responded, her rifle morphing into a pistol strapped to her hip. She seemed to relax some at that. "Sorry about that, Respawn, but well…"

"I'm not in costume, yeah." I guessed, which the woman nodded to as she walked towards Parian and me. "I was watching the show before the E88 guys crashed it."

"So we gathered from your call." Miss Militia mused, glancing from both younger female Capes to the giant hole in the wall. "You know, the agent you spoke with tried to tell you to wait for us."

I let out a small nervous laugh, rubbing the back of my neck. "Oops?"

"Actually, she had good timing." Parian stepped in. "They were about to start killing the audience to… demand my compliance." She waved towards where Alabaster had slashed his knife clean of blood.

"I see…" the brunette PRT hero hedged before looking around once more. Finally, she reached up and tapped the earpiece on the right side of her head. "Command, this is Miss Militia. Situation resolved but Hookwolf and Alabaster escaped." She waited a moment before nodding, even though the other side couldn't see it. "Roger. I'll get their statement before RTB. Miss Militia, out."

"Huh… I thought you guys were super police, not like the military." My mouth said before my mind caught up to it. The quirked brow from Miss Militia had me blushing in embarrassment. "Uh… sorry."

"No need to apologise, though… it's a little complicated." The woman responded, placing a hand on her hip… well, her holstered pistol. "The PRT task forces act more like SWAT teams, though we do have a few military veterans on the roster too."

Reaching up to her earpiece, she pulled out a small nub that looked attached to a wire, which she pulled out before her… Turns out it was a microphone. "Now, do you agree to give a statement on what happened here?"

I glanced from Miss Militia to Parian but the doll girl's full face mask didn't really give anything away. "Ah… I guess?"

"I agree as well." Parian replied.

Okay, so to make a long story short, we both said our cape names and then gave a rundown of what happened. That's when I found out Parian had that bear shield. There were only a couple stumbling blocks in the story.

"And that's when Alabaster shot her… three times." Parian hesitantly stated. It sounded like… you know, someone thinking about something gross or queasy.

"But her brute power protected her." Miss Militia surmised, looking over my unblemished body.

"Ah… no. I… Well, I saw the back of her head explode before…" Oh, that's why Parian sounds so queasy.

"That's my power." I took over, deciding that Miss Militia knowing didn't hurt too much. I mean, the cat was going to get out of the bag sooner or later anyways. "Anytime I die, I respawn… hence the name."

"That's… interesting." The PRT hero hedged. "Can you elaborate?"

"Hmm… well…" I thought for a second before my eyes noticed the gleam of silvered metal in the pile of destroyed seats. "How about a demonstration."

"A what?" The woman asked with a blink of her eyes as I moved towards the dropped gun.

"It's like I said, I respawn on death." I said over my shoulder, leaning down to pick up the pistol. I saw the woman tense and then cry out when I put the barrel of the pistol to my temple.

I stopped after the third respawn… you know, when I noticed the shellshocked look in Miss Militia's eyes and that Parian had hidden between some chairs to vomit. Hmm… maybe I shouldn't do that anymore.

"Uh… Are you guys okay?"

The question seemed to snap Miss Militia out of her shocked state. "Respawn? Can you please put the firearm down?"

"Uh, sure." I replied, setting the gun on a nearby chair. The woman let out a breath as soon as I stepped away from the gun. Come on! I was only killing myself. There was the sound of coughing and spitting before Parian emerged from hiding, mask in place. "You okay?"

"Please don't do that again… ever." She pleaded, voice still weak.

"Okay…"

"Now, Parian, when did you knock Hookwolf through the wall?" Miss Militia asked, once more gathering the statement.

"That was me, actually." I answered for the doll controlling cape, seeing her still not steady.

"You?" Miss Militia asked in surprise before her brow furrowed. "Is that another aspect of your power?"

"Well… yeah, but I can't do it all the time." I hedged. I mean, I don't want to give everything about my powers away… besides, I don't really know how it works yet.

"Hmm. Maybe you should come in for power testing to help figure out the full extent of your powers." Miss Militia offered.

"I'll think about it. Anyways, you pretty much arrived just after I knocked Hookwolf through the wall and Alabaster ran after him."

"Do you agree with this, Parian?"

"Yes."

"Then this official statement is closed." With those official sounding words, she guided the microphone back into the earpiece, headset thingy.

"Um, is there anything else you need, Miss Militia?" I asked hesitantly, looking at the time and thinking about Dad.

"Not officially but I think you both did a good job occupying both Hookwolf and Alabaster so the civilians could escape."

"Of course. I needed to protect my audience." Parian primly replied.

I just rubbed the back of my neck while blushing up a storm. "Well, I was just caught up in it, you know…"

"Well, your quick thinking led to a lot of saved lives today." Miss Militia responded with a smile… at least I think she was smiling, you know, with that scarf covering her lower face. "I think you would be a good addition to the Wards if you joined them."

"Ah… thanks?"

"Sorry to interrupt but, Respawn, do you have some way I could contact you?"

I turn to Parian, blinking in surprise. "Uh… I have a cell phone for hero work, I guess." I pulled it out and we traded numbers.

"Thank you. I'll call you soon." Parian said, sliding her phone back into a hidden pocket of her victorian dress.

"Why?"

She just looked at me though her china doll mask. "Nothing comes free and I plan on repaying you for your help tonight."

I blinked at that. "You don't have to-"

"I don't." Parian agreed but shook her head. "But I will." She turned back to the PRT hero and cocked her head. "If there's nothing else?"

"No, the statement is all I needed but sorry I didn't arrive in time." Miss Militia replied with a nod of her head.

"Your arrival is what scared them off." Parian countered before turning to walk back towards the stage. "Now if you'll excuse me…" She exited through the curtains towards the backstage.

"I guess I should head home myself…" I mused out loud.

"Would you like a ride?" The woman before me offered.

I cocked my head for a moment before nodding, "Sure!"

Holy shit are motorcycles awesome! I've got to get one once I get my driver's license!

Anyways, Miss Militia dropped me off near my house but a couple blocks away. Didn't want her dropping me off right on my doorstep, you know.

The front door had barely closed before Dad had me in a warm hug. "Hey, Dad."

"Damn it, Taylor… I don't think I'll ever get used to that." He whispered, the relief clear in his voice.

I hugged him back with a relieved sigh of my own. "I'm just glad you're safe, Dad. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Considering how my world fell apart after Mom died, I couldn't fathom my world without Dad in it.

If I was being honest to myself, I could and it utterly terrified me…

o0O0o

 **End of Chapter**

o0O0o

 **A/N**

Sorry for the delay but classes have been a real pain… as in I've had a headache almost every day since they started. Something about having to work advanced electrical engineering maths for 8 hours plus 2 more hours of study group… It really made it hard to concentrate on words.

Anyways, this week is less maths and more theory, so I'm in a better mindset, I guess.

For those of you thinking I'm GG bashing, I'm not. It's just how things are turning out right now and how Taylor is experiencing it. Don't expect it to continue.

IvanDead

Yeah, I know that Alabaster can be killed but, in story, Taylor doesn't know. At least, not yet.

AVO385

This is AU but the Endbringer change just shows it more than Taylor's power change. I'm not going off the wall different but not everything's the same as original, though a lot is. Expect things to keep changing from original as the changes to Taylor's powers continue to make waves in Brockton Bay.

Edale

Nice catch. I meant to put 158 severe casualties and/or deaths to leave it ambiguous but screwed up. I've already edited chapter 2 to fix it.

VideoCrazy

Vikki is how Taylor hears it until told otherwise. It's phonetically the same so…

Tymofey

Dying is the correct spelling for the use. Dieing is actually the misspelling. I had to look it up once I saw your review just to make sure.


	4. Chapter 4

Keep Calm and Respawn

A Worm Fanfiction

By: Konsaki

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 **Topic: Brockton Bay Hero - Respawn  
 **In: Boards Brockton Bay Heroes****

Viewing page 1… 6, 7, 8, **9** , 10, 11

 **Bagrat** (Original Poster) (Guy in the Know)  
Posted on 2 March 2011:

Okay guys, seems like our newest hero just had her power ratings adjusted by the PRT. Words from the grapevine has it due to her actions in saving Parian from the E88, specifically Hookwolf and Alabaster. Due to the situation involved, there's no pictures or video yet.

Ratings: (Official)  
Brute – 6 (was 3)  
Striker – 3 (was 0)  
Trump – 1

Now, I don't know exactly why her ratings got bumped up but I can guess it was due to a new power evaluation. This was her first recorded hero on villain action.

 _Edit: Looks like her power is exactly what it sounds like; if she gets hurt or dies, she 'respawns' fully healed. Anything more specific than that is unknown other than she does have a striker power to punch and kick at superhuman strength._

 _Interestingly, there are reports that Alabaster called her 'Little Red Riding Hood', probably in relation to her costume, at the fight mentioned above. I'm not sure what this means exactly, but it does indicate Alabaster and Respawn knew each other before this fight somehow._

As always, refrain from speculating on WHO she is or expect the ban hammer.

 _(Mod Edit: Thanks for the reminder and Bagrat is correct. – MrSmith)_

 **Jagerghast  
** Posted on 2 March 2011

Histerjack

Look, dude. All I'm saying is she's got a lot of choices if she joins the Wards. I mean, it's already 4 to 1 with only Vista and she's way too young.

I mean, sure, let's say Gallant is GG's boytoy. That still leaves Clock, Kid and Aegis.

 _(Mod Edit: Alright guys, time to take this into another tread. – Tin_Mother)_

 **Yammers  
** Posted on 2 March 2011

Huh, that's a pretty good bump in rating. Wonder what happened for the upgrade…

 **xX_Void_Cowboy_Xx  
** Posted on 2 March 2011

Isn't Hookwolf a Brute 7 and Alabaster… Brute 5 or 6? That means she's just as powerful as them, right?

Holy shit! She'd break you with her legs when _(Mod Edit: That's an infraction! Keep it clean – Tin_Mother)_

 **Topic: 1 March – Respawn/Parian vs E88  
 ** **In: Boards Brockton Bay Activity******

Viewing Page **1** , 2, 3

 **RodrickHenderson** (Original Poster)  
Originally Posted on 1 March 2011

Just escaped the Lancaster Theater where Hookwolf and Alabaster tried holding everyone hostage. Hookwolf was trying to press Parian into the E88 or else they were going to kill her and slaughter the audience… I'm just a stagehand, so I was backstage during this, but I could see through a gap in the curtain.

Parian wasn't having any of this and told Hookwolf to buzz off.

Well, Hookwolf had Alabaster stab some dude in the arm to prove his point about the audience. Just to make things worse, Alabaster pulled out a honkin big gun to shoot the next victim.

I barely noticed her before she acted but some girl snuck up behind Alabaster, stabbed him and took his gun. Dude, people were freaking out and those closest to the doors booked it. I mean, the nazi managed to pull the trigger but it looked like he missed.

Well, the girl chunks the gun before bantering with the big white dildo and he calls her Little Red Riding Hood. I'm thinking, is she a new hero or something?

Anyways, Parian has her prop dragon (was for the play) throw Hookwolf into Alabaster. That's when Hookwolf changes into his wolf form and Alabaster shoots Little Red with another pistol.

Fuck, man… it was a bloody mess before she just… reset like it didn't happen. Like, I saw fucking brains and she didn't even care! She just punches Hookwolf in the face and he flies across the freaking room!

Anyways, Hero's win, E88 loses. And by lose, I mean Little Red kicked HW through the fucking wall! A cinderblock cement wall! Fuck.

By that point, I had enough and booked it myself, leaving through the back.

Fuck, I need some beer.

 **Space_Ranger98  
** Posted on 1 March 2011

Whoa, sounds like a crazy event! Glad to hear you're all okay!

Well, except for those E88 scumbags. They can lay in traction for all I care.

 **UnidirectionalAntenna**  
Posted on 2 March 2011

My sister was in that crowd! Whoever Little Red is, you have my thanks!

 **Reditclast**  
Posted on 2 March 2011

Why the fuck isn't Hookwolf in the Birdcage?! Fucking snag his ass and throw it him in superjail!

 **RodrickHenderson** (Original Poster)  
Posted on 2 March 2011

Dude, calm down and grab a beer. The PRT tried putting him in the cage but Kaiser busted him out at the last second. Looks like he got away this time, too.

Whatever. Little Red kicked his ass! Whoo!

 **KeepCalmAndRespawn** (Verified Hero)  
Posted on 2 March 2011

Uh, that was me. Alabaster was joking about me being out of costume.

I'm just happy Parian tossed Hookwolf into him, cause he's really annoying to fight.

 **RodrickHenderson** (Original Poster)  
Posted on 2 March 2011

Whoa! That was you and you've fought him before? Damn, girl!

Hookwolf mauled your face and then you just popped up and kicked him through a wall. You're awesome!

o0O0o

 **3 Mar – Afternoon**

"Hey, Taylor. What's up?"

I smiled at that. You know, the simple fact that Glory Girl remembers my name.

"Hey, Vikki. Want to go bust a Merchant base?"

"Yes!" I blinked at her enthusiastic… no, desperate reply. "When and where?!"

"Uh…" I looked at a nearby sign. "You know the old Calford's Gas on McArthur?"

"Hmm… Yeah, I think I know what you're talking about."

"Well, I'm standing in the alley beside it ready to go."

"Oh! Okay, give me ten and I'll be there!" The phone call disconnected after that and I put my cell phone away.

Putting my hands in my coat's pockets, I stood in the shadows of the old gas station's overhang. All the windows were boarded up but you could see where someone, probably a squatter or two, had pried one of the boards open to slip in and out. Right now, though, it was quiet, which suited me fine.

I had less than ten minutes to think about what I was about to do and how to say it. Man, time flies fast when you're lost in thought.

"Hey, girl!"

I look up at the female voice coming from above. I grin beneath the mask covering my mouth. "Hey, GG."

She frowned slightly, crossing her arms over her chest as she floated downward. "Please don't. It's annoying when Clock does it." She said it more as a request than a demand.

"Okay, sorry." I mentally made note of that.

The blonde cape just sighed lightly. "It's not your fault, just…" She took a deep breath and set down on the ground. "Okay, what's the plan?"

I paused for a moment before asking, "Are you okay?"

"I…" Glory Girl looked hesitant for a moment before running a hand through her flowing locks. "I had a fight with my boyfriend today."

Okay, then. That wasn't something I have any experience with. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No… I'd rather hit things." She bluntly replied, curling her right hand into a fist.

"Alright, moving on then," I said, pulling out a map printout from a pocket. Glory Girl leaned in to look at it as I held it in the sunlight. Pointing to a spot I'd circled in pen, I explained my plan, "So, I followed around a dealer yesterday and found what could be another warehouse. Figured if I bring you with me, I'll avoid getting punched this time." I looked her in the eye to let her know I was just poking fun.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" She jokingly complained, punching me lightly in the shoulder. I know she held back but it still stung a little.

"Okay, so I've checked the place out and it's an old corner store like this place." I indicated the building we were beside. "Everything's boarded up but the back door, which looks like they installed a metal door or something."

I think Glory Girl was picturing it in her head and nodded to me. "Got it. So, how do you want to do this?"

"Well, I figured I'd go in the back door to get their attention. Once they start shooting at me, you come in through one of the boarded windows in the front and hit them from behind."

"Why wait till you're being shot at?"

I was confused by her confused look. "I thought getting shot hurt."

"Yeah, like someone pinching me but not like actually being shot. What about you?"

"Agonizing pain for a split second or until I force a respawn, whichever happens first."

Glory Girl just stared at me with wide blue eyes. "I thought you had Brute powers."

"I do. I respawn when I die or get injured enough to force it." I responded, looking into her eyes while cocking a brow.

"No pain powers?" She asked, hoping she was wrong.

"Nope." I confirmed.

"Damn… that sucks."

I just shrugged. "You get used to it." Funny thing was, I had gotten used to it. Getting hurt still, you know, hurt but I could just ignore it till I respawned. Sort of like when you brush your hair and hit a snag; it hurts the first few times but after a while it's just a minor annoyance you learn to ignore.

"You sure you want me to wait till they're shooting at you?" The concern in her voice was as audible as the fact she wasn't fully convinced in my decision.

"Yeah, cause if they're all shooting at me, there's less chance they'll shoot each other in any crossfire." Plus the fact that I needed them to kill me to get any charges.

Huh… I guess I should kill myself a couple times in advance? Something to think about.

"Okay, I guess." Glory Girl still didn't sound convinced but let it lie.

"Anyways, I distract them, you knock some out, we clean up the rest, call the PRT and call it a day."

"Huh, that's a little more in depth than I'm used to." The blonde admitted, looking at the satellite map some more. "Usually, I just fly around until I find trouble, then handle it."

"Oh, yeah; no flying till we start the fight." Knew I forgot something.

"Why?" She obviously didn't like that, crossing her arms and floating an inch or two off the ground.

I listed the reasons I thought up on my fingers. "First, it might tip off the dealers. Second, it means we don't have to use our phones to coordinate." Glory Girl was once more on the ground but nodding to my points. "And lastly, if I wanted to be alone, I wouldn't have invited you."

Glory Girl opened then closed her mouth silently before letting out a breath. "Sorry about that." She ran a hand through her hair while looking around us. "Be easier to handle if you had a mover power. You know?"

I just shrugged, feeling my coat tails rub on my lower legs. "Not staying dead when killed is a cool trade off."

She snorted at that. "Heh. I guess so. So, how far is this place?"

"Around three blocks that way." I answered, pointing towards the northeast.

"Well, lead on, Little Red Riding Hood." Glory Girl offered grandly with a sweeping arm and a giggle.

I let out a good natured sigh but started walking, my partner falling in step a second later. We didn't really talk on the way but it was comfortable with it.

Eventually, we reached the last alley that opened up to look at the front side of the abandoned convenience store.

"This isn't the same one we met each other at, is it?"

I looked from the building, to her and back. "No, it's just another abandoned building. See, the roof isn't caving in or anything." I damn well remember the fucking roof caving in…

"If you say so… Now what?" She quirked an eye towards me.

"I guess find a place to hide nearby till you hear the guns." I responded with a shrug. "It's all playing it by ear now."

Glory Girl nodded and held up her hand with a smile. "See you in a few!"

I smiled back and high-fived her before moving back into the alley as she floated up to hide on the roof.

It took me a few minutes to make it around to the back of the dealer's warehouse. Deciding to stay hidden in the alleys meant I had to travel almost a full block to avoid being seen. Still, I was in position and hadn't seen any Merchants or other dealers.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out into the late afternoon sun, quickly skulking across the street to reach the shadows of the target building. Heart beating steadily in my ears, I took another calming breath before edging towards the door, extending my baton with a flick of my wrist.

Okay, three… two… one… Let's go!

I slowly opened the door and slid through it, closing it behind me without making much noise.

Ugh! It stunk in there! Like some bad cigarettes or something, with smoke hanging in the air like a thick fog. Thank God for my mask filtering some of this crap!

I slunk in the shadows, finding it odd that I hadn't seen anyone yet. Found out why when I turned a corner.

There was a square card table in the room with a couple bongs on it and white powder lines.

The two Merchants who were at the table were obviously not all there, being high on life and other things.

Okay, so let me lay out what happens next so there's no confusion. The one facing me freaks out once he sees me. He kicks back from the table in panic. The cheap metal folding chair breaks, spilling him backwards. His head hits a shelving unit and he collapses into a moaning heap.

His… friend, well, he just starts laughing his ass off like it's the funniest thing he's seen this year.

And I'm just standing there thinking, 'Is this really happening?'

I mean, laughing boy didn't even care when I pulled his hands behind him and zip tied them. He just kept having a ball as I moved over to his buddy. Thankfully there wasn't any blood but I zip tied him too.

But seriously, was this it? Two guys high out of their minds and nothing else? That couldn't be right.

I quietly searched the small building but… yeah, those two losers was it.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed up Glory Girl. "Yeah? What's going on? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've got things handled. Just come on in the back way."

"...what?"

"Just…" I let out a breath. "You'll understand when you see it." I hung up and started poking around some while waiting for my partner to arrive. I looked up when the metal door closed with a clang. "Yo, I'm over here."

"What happened to the plan?" She asked, coming around the corner with a frown.

I just pointed towards laughing boy, who'd finally calmed down to quiet giggles, and his compatriot on the floor.

"You're joking." She complained. "He's blitzed out of his mind!" She then pointed to the man on the floor. "And what happened to him?"

"He tripped."

"You're joking." She repeated to my response.

"Honest truth." I replied with a sigh, pulling my hood back to run a hand through my hair. "I really thought this would be more difficult."

Glory Girl just sighed in disappointment. "Fine. You call the PRT, I'll look around."

It was pretty uneventful after that… not that it was eventful to begin with, really. I called the PRT, Glory Girl found the stash of cash and harvested it. I had to roll my eyes when she hid it down her cleavage. Once the police showed up, we said our piece and left.

"We're going for ice cream." Glory Girl declared as we strolled out of Merchant territory, pulling the looted cash from her glory pocket.

"You going to punch me if I don't?" I snarked back with a grin.

"Don't tell me you can't take it, Red." The blonde girl teased back, sticking her tongue out at me.

I huffed in mock offense before ginning again. "Sure, let's get some ice cream. It's been a pretty messed up week, so I deserve it."

"Come on, fighting the E88 idiots without your costume isn't that bad." Glory Girl countered, literally skipping through the air around in front of me.

I waved off her comment. "No, I got suspended from school."

Glory Girl stopped her spinning skip to just stand and stare at me… she still floated backwards at my normal walking speed though. "You got suspended?! For what?"

"I started a fight with a bully and won via headbutt." I nonchalantly explained.

"No." The blonde cape countered with a shake of her head, putting her hands on her hips. "No, you don't get to leave it just at that! Details, girl! Details!"

I snorted at her reaction but shrugged. "Only if you give me details on what had you bothered earlier."

Blue eyes glanced away from me for a moment, Glory Girl worrying her bottom lip before sighing. "Deal. Now come on! Ice cream awaits!"

So, we caused a bit of a scene once we reached the closest ice cream parlor. Guess the place wasn't used to costumed capes just walking in the door to order banana splits to go.

It seems I do have a mover ability but I need to use charges to use it. Basically, I stabbed myself to death a few times then super-jumped to the roof of a building. I blame Glory Girl and her dare.

Anyways, she followed me with the sweet icy treats and we sat on the roof edge eating them. I just had to make sure to keep my hood low over my face while I ate, since my mask would just be in the way.

"Wow, that's really fucked up." Vikki commented, pointing towards me with her plastic spoon. "I mean, really…"

I just shrugged. "She's the track star, I'm a nobody. No, I don't like it but maybe she'll leave me alone now."

"Eh…" Vikki hedged, waggling her hand back and forth in an 'iffy' motion. "Maybe but I wouldn't count on it."

"Still worth it, especially with Dad basically just slapping me on the wrist." I stated before eating more of the melting sweet.

"Yeah, my mom would… well, I'm not sure but I do know I never want to know." Vikki responded with a visible shiver. I giggled at the sight. "No, you don't understand. My mom's really scary and shit. Especially when she gets going on how I screwed up."

"No, no, I believe you!" I couldn't stop giggling though at the look on her face.

"Right, laugh at my pain." Vikky turned her nose up at me before primly scooping more vanilla into her mouth.

"Okay, okay. I'm good." I calmed down but still held a smile. "It's your turn anyways."

"Girl, after everything you've been through, me having a fight with my boyfriend is just so…"

"Trivial?"

"Yeah, that." Vikki agreed, taking another bite of the now dwindling ice cream and banana slurry.

I shifted on the roof to face her. "It's important to you. So, what happened?"

"It's stupid."

"Come on! Tell me!" I leaned forward.

"I saw Dean looking at another girl and got all jealous and yelled at him! Okay? I told you it was stupid!" Vikki's eyes were clenched closed as she grit her teeth.

"So… what are you gonna do now?"

"I… I don't know." Vikki admitted, slumping her shoulders. "Maybe I was just overreacting but what if he really was checking her out?"

I didn't know. I've never had that sort of problem. I just let out a noncommittal hum as I ate the last of my ice cream.

"What do you think I should do?"

Of course she would ask me that. "Talk to him?"

Vikki just looked at her empty plastic bowl in thought and I figured it was best to leave her be for a bit. Eventually, she looked me in the eye and sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll give him a call tonight." She perked up a moment later and grinned. "Hey, if you really want to get away from those bullies, you can come to Arcadia. I mean, you'll probably need to join the Wards but they're good people, you know, other than Shadow Stalker."

"Yeah, it's something I've been thinking about. Dad wants me to at least talk with them about joining."

"Well, the only reason I'm not in the Wards is because my whole family are capes but I'm friends with most of them. I think you'd like it, just saying." She said with a smile.

"I'll think it over." I replied, standing up while pulling up the half mask over my lower face.

"You want help down?" Vikki asked, also standing up and brushing off her white skirt.

I just grinned and shook my head. "Nah. I'll take a long walk off a short pier."

Vikki blinked in confusion. "What?"

I gave her a mock salute before stepping off the roof, falling into a long drop with a quick stop. Boom, I'm back on my feet on the ground floor. No lasting damage done.

"Girl, you are not right in the head!"

I just waved back up to Glory Girl with a laugh as she flew away back to her own house and family.

o0O0o

 **5 March - Evening**

"Hey." I greeted with a wave, stepping up onto the stage of the Lancaster Theater. Parian had given me a call to come meet her.

Looks like they're still working on the hole in the wall Hookwolf made.

"Hello to you as well." Parian greeted in return with a nod, her golden curls flowing with her movements. "So this is you in costume."

"Yeah. I got really lucky with the find." I held my crimson long coat open and showed it off. It wasn't anywhere as fancy as Parian's Victorian doll setup but it's mine and I'm happy with it.

"Still, the look is incomplete." The doll cape stated, handing me a package of paper and twine. "You may use the changing room behind the curtain. The rest of your reward is waiting for you there, as well."

Huh… okay. "Thanks, I guess."

She shooed me backstage with a wave of her white gloved hand and turned back to the giant hole in the wall. Guess that's my cue to exit stage left.

Maneuvering around the heavy maroon curtain, I saw the room Parian had mentioned. Considering the fact that it's a smallish theater, the changing room was pretty much the same size you'd expect at a clothing store… maybe a little bigger but not much.

At least this one had a ceiling and a solid door.

I glanced around the room to check for cameras or anything. You never know, you know?

Anyways, all I spotted was that there were two mirrors on the walls, one across from the door I entered and one to my right where the lights were. To my left was a plain padded bench, the same color as the curtains I just passed through to get backstage.

Oddly, there was a pair of boots placed before the bench with a bright yellow ribbon bow laid atop.

"Holy shit." I whispered out, picking the boots up to look at them. They were coal grey suede leather with a slight heel and looked to come up close to my knee. There was a dull black steel cap on the toes, like a safety rated steel toe cap but on the outside of the boot. At least, that's how it looked to me. Finally, there were belts… like five of them strapped around loosely on each boot, waiting to be tightened.

Okay, now I 'had' to see what was in the package. Opening it up carefully, I gasped at what lay in my hands as I lay them out on the clean bench.

A white sleeved button shirt, a black vest with dark grey buttons, a bright red tie and some thin black leggings… all made of the softest silk. Like, I had to stop my hands from feeling them they were so soft and silky. They made the black leather pants seem mundane by comparison and those looked like they were skin tight!

"Do you like them?"

I shocked at the voice outside the door. I took a calming breath. It was only Parian. "This… isn't this much?"

"Is my life worth even less than this to you?"

Her words weren't scathing, in fact they held some level of humor. Still, the words made me cringe.

"Relax. I have my own reasons for this as well." Parian continued talking as I shucked my coat and started undressing by taking off my shoes.

"Yeah?"

"Yes. I love fashion. Reading about latest trends, researching older styles and how they recycle with time… I want to make my own line of clothes."

"That sounds pretty cool." I offered, though fashion wasn't really my thing. I mean, it sounded like she was really into it, so I wished her luck and everything.

"I seem to think so."

Now in my underwear, I looked at myself in the mirror. Same old Taylor but… I had to admit I'm more fit than I was before becoming Respawn. If I flex my arm, I can actually see some muscle!

Still thin as a rail, though…

I guess it made it easy to get into the skinny leather pants, you know, after pulling the silk leggings on.

"So, how many outfits have you made?" I didn't like the silence with just the ruffling of clothing.

"Other than for myself? Yours."

I blinked as I was buttoning up the white silk shirt. "Really?"

"Well, the first complete outfit, I suppose." She mildly corrected herself. "I have made blouses and skirts for a few friends."

"So, why do this for me? You now, other than the saving you from the Nazis thing." I questioned, looking at the tie before setting it aside. I never had a reason to learn how to put on a tie and Dad didn't really wear them that often.

"Because I wish to use your fame to advertise my fashion sense and skill."

"I'm not really famous, you know." I countered her statement, buttoning up and smoothing out the black silk vest.

"You think fending off Hookwolf and Alabaster in front of that audience would let you stay in anonymity?" Her question was obviously cast in amusement.

Okay, yeah. I could already see people talking about Respawn on PHO but I'm not famous. It's all just 'look something new and shiny'!

Pulling the boots on, I blinked at how well they fit me… how everything fit me. I wondered if Parian had a Thinker power when it came to clothes or something. Anyways, I finished buckling my boots, and isn't that a weird thought, then pulled on my long coat once more.

Whoa… Looking in the mirror, I looked sharp! I mean, I looked like I'd just come out of a designer clothes store and had this custom tailored.

Thinking about it, I guess I did.

"I assume you're finished. Come, let me see my work."

I left the changing room, leaving my original clothes on the padded bench. Holding up the tie, I apologized, "Sorry, never learned to wear these."

Parian let out a small sigh but quickly and professionally tied it around my neck and tucked it under the vest. Pulling the silk taut, she gave my image a scrutinizing look. At least, it looked that way from her body language.

"Hmm… something's missing…" She mused, tapping the chin of her doll mask. She clapped her gloved together a second later, heading into another room. "Wait here a moment."

Huh, wearing a tie felt weirder than the leather pants and boots.

"I apologize. I meant to have this in the package but…" Parian said as she handed over more black silk.

Oh, a new mask. Yeah, I guess neoprene sort of clashed with the new outfit. It'd be like putting a wood spoiler on a F1 racecar. It was a quick swap in the changing room before I stood before Parian once more.

"Better." She praised, walking around me. "Much better. How does it fit?"

"Perfectly!" I was still rather surprised at that fact. "How'd you do it?"

"It's part of my power." The older cape confirmed, pulling out her cell phone. "Would you mind if I took some pictures?"

"Sure! I mean, thanks for making this for me!"

We moved out in front of the curtain, where the lights were brighter. Parian took some photos, some with the hood up and some with it down and then a couple without my coat at all.

It was kind of fun and I left the theater feeling good. I'm glad the mask covered the blush I had at some of the looks I was getting.

o0O0o

 **7 Mar – Monday afternoon**

What the hell?! Wasn't me busting Hess's nose enough for them to leave me alone?

Oh, no. No it wasn't! In fact, all it did was give them a full week to fuck with my locker!

And when I brought it up to Principal Blackwell, she wouldn't even believe me! Mr Jackson saw how clean my locker was when I got suspended! I wasn't even allowed in the school so how could I have poured bright florescent green paint all over everything and toss a pound of glitter on top.

Okay, I've had enough. I'm done with Winslow and the bitch trio. I'm going talk to the PRT and the Wards. The sooner I get into Arcadia, the better.

That's why I stood outside the PRT downtown headquarters, a tall spire of mirrored windows gleaming in the afternoon sun. They even had a heroic looking fountain out front depicting Legend, of the Triumvirate, kneeling down to help a scared child while Alexandria and Eidolon protected his back in heroic poses.

A flash broke me out of my thoughts. Blinking, I noticed it was someone's phone taking a picture.

Shaking my head, I headed inside past the posted security guards and their foam guns. I read those non-lethal foam containment guns are Dragon and Armsmaster's joint creation to contain capes. They basically hose you down and you're glued in place but you can breathe through it.

Yeah, I'd rather not be on the target of that, thank you very much.

"Can I help you, miss?"

Ugh… I've got to stop getting lost in thought.

"Uh, yeah." I turned to the uniformed woman. She wasn't kitted out for guard duty so I think she's there to greet people looking lost. "I'm need to talk to Miss Militia. She said she'd talk with me about the Wards."

"And you are?" She patiently asked, typing something into her handheld tablet.

"Respawn. I'm a new hero."

"Of course." The brown haired woman calmly replied, like she dealt with this all the time. Who knows, maybe she had. She finished typing and then nodded after a moment. "If you'd please come with me, I'll show you a private waiting room."

The private waiting room had four chairs, two on each side, with a small coffee table between them with some warm bottled water on it. There was also a television on mute on the back wall, showing a news channel, the remote resting on a small shelf next to it.

"If you'd wait here, she'll be with you as soon as she can."

"Um… thanks." I replied before settling in to wait.

The news was describing the reconstruction process and progress in Cairo. A satellite view showed just how much of the city was wrecked. The analyst used a digital pen to circle the southeastern part of the picture, where the 'ground zero' was. Looks like the Egyptian government was just walling that section of the city off, the hazards left over from Behemoth and the fighting just too much for normal people to live in. Apparently the US had donated quite a bit of money towards the reconstruction, showing how we were still allies with Egypt.

It was just moving on to a more local scandal in Washington D.C. when there was a knock at the door.

"Respawn? Hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

"Miss Militia!" I jerked up to standing, bumping the coffee table in my rush and sending the water bottles falling to the floor. Oh, God! I felt my face heat up and hid it behind my hands. "Please kill me now."

The older woman couldn't stifle a light laugh. "We both know it wouldn't stick." The amusement in her voice was obvious. She decided to throw me a bone, though, and restart the conversation. "Hello, Respawn."

"Hi. Sorry for wasting your time." I felt so mortified.

"You're not wasting my time. Just relax." Miss Militia calmly consoled me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Now, I heard you're here to talk about the Wards?"

"Yes!" I jumped on the change in topic from my clumsiness and lowering my hands. "I wanted to see what joining offered and what it's like. You know, figure things out before I make a decision."

"Well, I'm more than happy to help you make that decision easier. If you have any questions, let me know but I think you should meet the Wards first. Don't you think so?" She replied with a smile, her eyes crinkling at the edges.

"Yeah, that sounds good." I smiled back.

That involved taking a trip up an elevator, to the seventh floor actually. Exiting the elevator, Miss Militia let me to a nearby door that had cameras watching it, a touchpad and an intercom. The hero of some Arabian ethnic decent stepped up to the touchpad and punched something in, a red light popping on over the door and alarm echoing through it.

"What's all that about?" I knew she wasn't walking me into a trap but curiosity had me asking.

"It's a thirty second warning that someone not privy to their personal identities is coming in. Anyone inside who's out of costume has just enough time to at least put a mask on or retreat to their rooms to get fully dressed." Miss Militia explained, ending just before another light above the door flashed green. Pulling the door open, she waved inward. "Welcome to the Ward Room."

I walked in past her, head almost on a swivel as I took in the area. It was a huge common area with a small kitchenette in one corner. The entire back wall was glass window, letting in the light from outside but facing the east so no direct sunlight this time of day. There was a couch and flat screen TV in another corner with a video game on pause at the moment.

On the north and south ends, hallways led away from the common rooms, which the Wards were filtering back in through. I guess that's where the bedrooms or whatever were.

"Hey! It's Emo Panacea!" Clock called out, before Gallant poked him in the side of the head. It was still a bad joke but I grinned at the memory of meeting them for the first time. "Whoa! Looking snazzy there! Where'd you get the new duds?"

"Parian made them for me as thanks for saving her." I replied, toeing the tiles with my right boot.

"It looks good on you." Gallant commented with a nod of greeting.

Clockblocker cupped his chin and hummed theatrically in thought. "Maybe I should ask her to make me a newer more awesome costume."

The only girl of the group, other than me of course, just scoffed. "Parian can't do miracles, Clock."

Clockblocker just nodded and dramatically declared. "You're right. I've already reached perfection."

"You're an idiot." The girl muttered with a shake of her head.

Miss Militia just sighed. "Respawn, these are the Wards. Starting from the right, there's Aegis, Gallant, Clockblocker, Vista, Kid Win…" She paused and frowned, placing a hand to her hip. "Aegis, where's Shadow Stalker."

Aegis, the largest hero in the room, just sighed. It looked like he had trouble with Shadow Stalker as the norm. "I believe she's in her room."

"Of course she is." The adult hero muttered under her breath.

"Who cares if she is? It's not like we want her here." Vista said, pointing her head towards the south hall while crossing her arms.

"I have to agree." Kid Win nodded along with a more sedate tone.

Aegis just sighed again. "Come on, guys. She's still a part of the Wards."

"Sure, she's a Ward but she definitely not part of the team." Clockblocker pointed out without any heat.

Aegis and Gallant just let out sighs at the emotions their teammates were displaying.

Miss Militia obviously wasn't pleased, crossing her arms over her chest. "Be that as it may, I expected 'all' of you out here to meet with a potential new teammate."

"You're gonna join the Wards!" Vista sounded elated before cheering. "Yes! I won't be the only girl anymore!" She jabbed a finger at the armor wearing Aegis. "And Shadow Stalker doesn't count!"

"Um… I'm just thinking about it, right now." I corrected her apologetically, reaching across to hold my left arm.

"And this is definitely not how I planned on introducing you to them." Miss Militia muttered before calling out. "Shadow Stalker! Come out here right now!"

The sound of a door slamming open and stomping boots echoed out of the south hallway.

"Fine, I'm coming!" A female voice echoed out, tickling the back of my mind. A girl in black body armor and hockey style mask stomped into vision, her cape flowing behind her. "I'm here. You happy now?"

That voice.

I clenched my fists and took a defensive posture. "You."

The girl in black turned to me, to look fully at me for the first time. "What do you want?"

"Fuck you, Hess! God damn it! Even when I try to escape you're in the fucking way!"

Oh, I was livid. The rest of the Wards were shocked and Miss Militia had a hand on a holstered green taser, looking between me and Shadow… Sophia Hess.

"Taylor?" Sophia actually sounded confused for a moment before she laughed out loud like this was the funniest thing she'd heard. "Oh, this is rich. Taylor Hebert thinks putting on a costume makes her a hero. It'd be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic."

Miss Militia literally stepped in between us, forcing me to move to the side to still see Hess. "Now hold on a minute! What's going on here?"

"This bitch has made my life a hell at school for the past two years!" I yelled out, thrusting a finger to the smug bitch looking back at me.

"It's all lies. Just like how she thinks she can play hero by just putting on a costume." Sophia jeered back, letting vitriol roll from her mouth.

"I'm more hero than you are, Hess! At least I've helped someone instead of trying to beat down the outcast." I smugly crossed my arms and stood up straight. "Well, at least I know I'm better than you in a fight or do you want a rematch of my forehead on your face?"

"I'll kick your ass, you bitch!" Yeah, the sound of her pissed off was music to my ears right now.

"That's enough!" Miss Militia's voice echoed through the room, silence reigning bar the video game's pause music from the corner. "Now, I want some answers and you're going to stop sniping at each other until I get them."

She turned her attention to me, still standing profile between us. "How do you know Shadow Stalker's identity?"

"Cause I know her voice, considering she's been making it her personal mission to make my time at Winslow a living hell." I growled back.

"No matter how much you tell those lies, no one's going to believe you." Hess taunted back.

"You, be quiet!" Miss Militia commanded Shadow Stalker with a glare. The teen looked back but didn't speak. The adult hero nodded in satisfaction and turned back to me. "Assuming what you're alleging is true, do you have any evidence?"

"Yes!" I cried out, pointing to myself. "My fucking powers! Damn it, now it makes sense how you kept trashing my locker! You used your god damn powers!"

"Respawn, I need you to calm down." The adult between me and the target of my rage urged, holding her left hand up in a placing gesture.

"Calm down?! I died in that locker!" I yelled at her, venting my rage. "You want to know why my powers are what they are? Her! Her and that fucking locker!" Everything I could figure out said that most powers are relative to the situation you got them.

Miss Militia's eyes hardened as the situation became more serious. "Respawn… Please, calm down and we can work this out."

I jerked upright at that. "No."

"What?" Miss Militia looked surprised with a blink of her brown eyes.

"No. I'm not joining the Wards. I'm not going to escape Winslow only to be forced to live with Hess here. Fuck that." I turned and pushed out the same door I entered through and jabbed the elevator button with a finger so hard I almost broke the digit.

God damn it! I wiped at my eyes and sniffled. I become a hero and Hess still messes up my life. Why can't things go in my favor when it mattered?! And now all the Wards knew…

The door to the Ward Room opened and closed behind me but I didn't look back.

"Respawn."

Damn it! Why did Miss Militia have to sound concerned? I'm trying to feel mad!

"I'm not joining the Wards." I managed to repeat through my constricted throat.

"I understand." She replied, moving to the other side of the elevator door. "I wish you'd reconsider but I understand." She let out a sigh as the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

I stepped back in shock as Armsmaster stomped out, his tinkertech power armor gleaming in the florescent lights. He glanced down at me then to Miss Militia before silently moving past into the Ward Room.

Miss Militia entered the elevator with me with another sigh and pressed the ground floor button.

"Respawn." I looked up into her face. "I just want you to know that we're going to investigate this. If you're telling the truth, Shadow Stalker will be punished accordingly."

"What? By being forced to clean the Ward Room or some stupid thing?" I bit back, picturing all the other times she'd gotten away with everything at Winslow.

"Considering everything you've said, she'd be put back in Juvenile Detention."

I blinked in shock at that declaration. "Really?"

Miss Militia just nodded. "This was her probation and, assuming she is complicit with those actions, she'll be guilty of breaking that parole."

"She deserves it!" I stated as the elevator doors opened with the ding.

"The only thing I ask is you don't reveal who Shadow Stalker is. Please remember it's a crime to do so."

I didn't respond, instead stepping out of the elevator and the PRT building and didn't look back.

o0O0o

 **8 March – Afternoon**

School was… tolerable today.

Sophia Hess was nowhere to be seen and the other two of the Trio were keeping their distance. Guess they didn't want to try anything without the 'tough girl' of the team.

Didn't stop me from constantly looking over my shoulder, knowing Hess could literally appear out the shadows.

Anyways, I made it through the school day and made it home without any crazy incidents happening, which suited me just fine.

Huh, Dad's truck is in the driveway. He's usually not home this early.

Unlocking the front door, I scrunched my eyebrows at all the lights being turned off. I figured he'd be watching TV or something. Maybe he's upstairs asleep? Is he sick?

Closing the door behind me, I flicked the light switch.

"Surprise!"

Dad's voice was followed by a pop and a few streamers from a party popper.

"Dad?"

"Happy Birthday, Taylor!" He happily declared before theatrically wiping away a tear. "My baby's growing up so fast!"

Wait. Was it really my birthday?

I ran the math rattle through my brain and discovered it was. Huh. I forgot completely about it.

I was sixteen now.

"Come on in! Have a seat!" Dad cajoled me, guiding me by the hand to sit at the table. He then opened the freezer and pulled out a small cake with a one and a six candles stuck in it. Lighting them up, he placed it before me and sat down to face me with a smile on his lips.

"Well?"

I let out a small laugh and blew the candles out only for them to sputter back to life.

Trick candles… it's such a 'Dad thing to do.'

He chuckled as I licked my fingers and smothered the wicks before pulling the candles out of the cake. It was a small 'cake for two', so I just cut it in half with the knife Dad had prepared for it.

"An ice cream cake?" Huh, wasn't expecting that either.

"And an important book for you to read." Dad declared, sliding over a manila wrapped book.

I just looked at my dad. "I already know about the 'birds and the bees'. Remember Mom and I had 'the talk'?"

Dad just tiled his head forward and gave me another 'Dad' look. This one meant I wasn't being funny and he wasn't going to laugh. Of course I giggled at it.

"Just open it."

I giggled some more as I tore open the wrapping to find the book inside. "Student driver's guide?"

Dad just nodded, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "You're old enough to drive but you still need a license. Once you finish that, we'll head to the DMV and set up your driving test." Dad shrugged. "You'll have to learn manual on the truck but if you want a motorcycle, you'll have to learn manual anyways."

I sniffed a little. "Thanks, Dad."

"Well, dig in before it melts." He said, placing a fork before me.

We sat there and ate the cake and it was delicious.

o0O0o

 **End of Chapter 4**

o0O0o

A/N

Don't really have much to say other than I've been on a roll with writing. Hope you enjoyed this.


	5. Chapter 5

Keep Calm and Respawn

A Worm Fanfiction

By: Konsaki

 **11 Mar**

The polished metal flashed in the evening light, the knife edge slicing through the air with nary a sound. Well, other than my grunts of effort and heavy breathing, that is.

Sweat dripped off my arm as I sliced through another string of slices and stabs. I blocked a strike from my imaginary opponent and slid inside his guard to stab him in the thigh. Twirling around, I used my left hand to push his arm to the side, his downward stab missing me as I flipped my knife into a backward grip and stabbed his kidney. I held that pose as the dust at my feet blew away with the slight breeze.

Letting out a tired breath, I stabbed myself in the heart. My next breath, I was clean and dry.

Sheathing my knife into the hidden sheath beneath my t-shirt, I stretched out. Sure, I didn't need to since my muscles weren't sore anymore but it still felt good as I reached for the sky.

Walking back over to where my backpack lay, I picked up the open book and started reading again. The MCMAP Instruction book was dry as hell but it included plenty of pictures and diagrams at least. Considering I was cheaper than hiring an instructor, it was totally worth the ten dollars I spent at the military surplus store on South Carolina St.

Sure, most of the knife techniques were designed to kill or maim your opponent but I didn't have to worry about that with someone like Alabaster. If I had to fight some normal person, I'll just use my baton instead of my knife.

Looking at my phone, I grimaced at the time. Shit, it was later than I expected. Dad's probably at the house wondering where I am.

Slipping my arms through the straps of my backpack, I felt the weight settle on my back and shoulders. I grunted as I shifted it to a better position. School books were freaking heavy… but that was the entire point.

Stepping out of the alley, I took a deep breath, looking towards the north. It was a couple miles of travel and it wasn't going to get any shorter.

Let's get this over with.

Walking a few steps to gain momentum, I set off at a ground eating jog, pacing myself for the long haul.

The knife was staying in its sheath for this one.

o0O0o

 **13 Mar – Night**

Okay, here we go!

I step out of the alley, the broken streetlight above me leaving the area in near pitch black shadows. I wait for a vehicle to pass, it's head lights momentarily illuminating the area before returning to darkness. One foot in front of the other, I tread calmly across the asphalt and into the alley opposite to where I started.

A red light glows above a doorway, the only light in the narrow access between the buildings. I reach out and pull it open, slipping through with nary a sound except the heels of my boots softly tapping on concrete and the whispers of my coat in the air.

I'm thankful that my eyes are already adjusted to the darkness, the lights inside the small warehouse turned off. Well, except for the two dim overhead lamps casting a baleful pallor over the rows of shelves stacked up to the ceiling. The only other light source radiated out from an upstairs office.

I took a wild guess that the office was where I needed to go. Looking around in the near darkness, I saw no movement and heard the sounds of silence.

Shrugging, I moved over to the nearby stairs to gain access to the catwalk running along the exterior of the upstairs offices. I tread lightly but the hard soles of my boots caused a low but sharp echoing tap with each step. Still, I reached the top with no signs anyone noticed or cared of my presence.

Huh, maybe I could actually pull this off.

More echoing taps as I walked down the catwalk, the metal grating spaced about an inch apart allowing me to look down into the darkness below.

My mind instinct was telling me to crouch down as I got closer to the lit window but I stayed upright, walking at a sedate steady pace. The only thing I could do was walk softly but I couldn't sneak.

Passing in front of the dusty window, I saw three men inside, all ABB. There were two at a small table counting money with a nearby moneybox and a third kicking back smoking something in the back corner.

Reaching the door, I twisted the knob and pushed it in. Walking in like I owned the place, I stepped up to the table, ignoring the confused blinking of the two men sitting there. With gloved hands, I closed the moneybox, picked it up and started walking back out of the office.

"The fuck?!"

God damn it! I was almost out the door!

A bullet tore through my side and I forced a reset, running out the door and jumping over the railing. I broke my left leg on the landing but it was fixed a moment later.

"Motherfucker! Jayce turn on the lights, Lee get down there and find her!" A man's voice directed from above me before a pistol fired, the bullet hitting a wooden crate near my head.

I slipped through a gap in the crates and boxes, putting them between me and the ABB goon with the gun.

"You can't hide forever!" The lead goon yelled out as the sound of clanging metal echoed out from someone quickly going down the stairs.'

Okay, come on, girl. No direct fighting allowed. What're you going to do?

I looked around me before coming up with a quick plan. Sneaking down the aisle, I set the lockbox out in the open before extending my baton and slipping into another gap.

I'd just settled into my hiding spot when the warehouse lights came to life with a loud clunk. It wasn't blinding illumination, though, but a slow glow that grew stronger by the second. They were maybe halfway to full brightness when another ABB goon called out nearby. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Did he really think I'd reveal myself like a little kid? Instead, I waited quietly, forcing my breath to be calm and even.

"Do you see him?" The leader called out, voice echoing off the shelves.

"Not yet." The closer voice called back before the footsteps paused. "Found the cashbox."

"Bring it back up here! We lose that and Lung'll have our asses!"

I started to tense up, readying for action. Easing and tightening my grip on the baton in my right hand, I waited until I saw the goon reach down to snag the bait.

"What the-"

That's all the goon got out before I shot out and smacked him in the forehead with the baton. He collapsed like a sack of rice, letting out a groan of pain as his pistol clattered to the floor. Quickly dropping my baton, I ignored the concerned yells from nearby to zip tie the goon's hands and arms together, effectively hog tying him.

Glancing at his dropped weapon, I shrugged to myself. Four booming gunshots echoed through the building as the bullets passed through my brain. I tossed the gun a second later and picked up both the baton and cashbox.

"What the fuck's going on down there?! Lee?! Answer me!"

I sprinted down the aisle, turning the corner at an intersection and ran towards the other side of the building from the offices. Finding another gap, I slid in and hid once more.

Two pairs of footsteps converged on where I ambushed Lee. Okay, I knew where they were now. Peeking out, I glanced around the aisle I was in. Spotting a gap around twelve feet up, I burned a charge to leap up to it.

It wasn't completely silent, my boots clunking dully on the wooden shelf but I could look down on either aisle now.

"It came from over there." Guess that's Jayce, cause it didn't sound like the leader.

"He can't take us both." The lead goon said, the two men starting to patrol once more.

Once they came into view, I frowned. They were actually being somewhat smart about this, staying around ten or so feet apart from each other. There's no way for me to take them both out at the same time and if I took out one, the other would see me.

They turned into the aisle to my left, warily looking around but not up. Okay, go after the first guy and risk the second shooting his buddy or drop the second and risk the first breaking off to escape? Decisions, decisions…

Well, it's show time.

Leaping down, I landed boots first into goon number two, our bodies collapsing into a messy heap on the ground. The goon looked out of it once I detangled myself from him but I jerked my head to the right.

The last ABB dude was running for his life to the exit I entered through, his gun clattering to the floor with his flight.

Shit! I pushed off, burning a charge to try and close the distance in time.

He reached the door, slamming it open before rocketing back towards me. He landed in a heap, curling into a ball to clutch his stomach with a groan.

At the door, Glory Girl lowered her leg from where she'd kicked the goon and smugly crossed her arms.

"Don't say it."

"I told you it wouldn't work." She replied with a smirk on her rosy lips.

I sighed in defeat. "I told you not to say it."

"And now I get to choose~!" She sang with a grin, swaying her hips with a little dance.

"Damn it… I hate that place." I complained, checking over goon number three, then restraining him.

"It's not my fault you made that bet." The blonde hero countered with a smile, stepping over the restrained goon when I set out to restrain the one I jumped on earlier.

"Hey, I was only joking around until you decided to put stakes on it." I responded back, quickly using the zip ties in my hand. "Besides, I was almost out of here before they reacted."

"Horseshoes and hand grenades, girl. Horseshoes and hand grenades." Glory Girl teased, picking up the cash box from where it fell on the floor. Popping it open, she pulled out a fold of tens and tossed it to me before hiding another fold for herself in the usual spot.

It was a quick process to call the PRT and inform them of the warehouse location.

Then we headed off to… Fugly Bob's.

God, I could already feel my arteries clogging and we'd only just ordered our food at the front counter. It's like the air was lined with oil and grease.

Heading off to the private room we met the Wards in before, I waved towards a little girl waving at us from a booth.

"How often do you eat this junk?" I asked Vikki as I closed the door behind us.

The blonde just shrugged as she sat in a chair, crossing her legs. "Once or twice a week."

"How the hell do you look like… that then?" I complained, gesturing towards her with a wave of my hand before plopping down into a chair.

"Superpowers, duh." Vikki answered, playfully sticking her tongue out at me.

"No, seriously, how?" I pushed, leaning forward with elbows on the table.

"My powers." She replied once more, waving a hand over her body. "Since I can't turn them off, I'm constantly burning calories to power it. At least, that's what the PRT eggheads think." She just shrugged. "It's not like I'm not active, though. I still run and play sports but only for fun now."

Oh, yeah. There was that law or something that kept capes from participating in school sports or tournaments.

Wait a second. That means Winslow was letting Shadow Stalker compete on the track team.

You know what, it doesn't matter anymore. I hadn't seen Sophia since that day. Really, it's like she dropped off the face of the planet, though I did hear a few students commenting on her absence. Overall, it seemed only the track team and the rest of the Trio cared.

And ever since they lost their muscle, Emma and Madison had quieted down quite a bit. I mean, Emma was still the 'popular girl' and Madison was still the 'cute girl' but they'd left me alone and that suited me just fine.

There was a knock at the door and a server came in with our food and drink. Half pound burger with bacon and Swiss and a side of chili cheese fries for Vikki; grilled chicken and fries for me.

Once the door closed, I flipped my hood back and pulled down my mask to take a drink of soda.

"So what's the special occasion?"

I quirked an eyebrow towards Vikki. "What?"

"You know… you usually pull your hood down to hide your face." She answered, popping a cheese covered fry into her mouth.

I just shrugged, swallowing my bite of chicken. "No one's going to see and I trust you. I mean, we're friends, right?"

A soft smile formed on Vikki's face. "Yeah… I guess we are."

o0O0o

 **Mar 18 – Late Evening**

"So, you just so happened to be patrolling the same area I'm patrolling." I stood there unconvinced, arms crossed as I looked at Clockblocker and Vista.

"Complete coincidence!" The time stopping hero swore with a hand over his heart. "In no way were we told to try and smooth things over with you due to an ex-teammate who will not be named. Nope, that totally didn't happen."

Glancing to his left, I tried not to smile at Vista palming her face with both hands. "Shut up, idiot!"

"And they didn't tell you to join me if you happened to find me." I stated, the edges of my lips rebelling with an upward quirk.

Clockblocker looked aghast. "Of course not! That would be heinous manipulation! And they certainly didn't tell us to keep such a plan quiet."

I just shook my head, smile breaking out under my mask as Vista elbowed her partner in the side. "Sure, fine. Being alone gets boring anyways."

"Hey, before we go…" Vista started before worrying her bottom lip. "I can't talk for the others but I'm sorry about Shadow Stalker. She picked on me too but… it only got bad outside the tower when I had to patrol with her."

I just sighed and leaned up against the street light behind me. It wasn't late enough into the evening for it to be on but I could see some switching on down the street. "It's not your fault. It's not any of you guys' faults. Whoever's in charge of the Wards should have known though."

Clockblocker rubbed the back of his neck. "Aegis tried to… I don't know, rehabilitate her or something. He was always trying to get her involved. It just didn't do anything but bring the mood down. You know?"

Vista moved closer and whispered up to me with a hand to her face. "Don't tell anyone but I heard that Shadow Stalker's handler was caught faking records to keep her out of trouble."

"Huh…" I uttered, not sure how to take that information. On one hand, they had full evidence that Shadow Stalker was breaking the rules but, on the other, that means the PRT has corrupt people working in it.

"Yeah, pretty much after you left, Armsmaster did his tinker lie detector thing on Shadow Stalker before throwing her into a cell." Clockblocker said with a shrug. "Can't say I miss her."

"But since they're down a Ward now, they want to get me to join." I mused, pushing off to walk down the street.

"Look, you do your thing. If that means becoming a Ward, cool. If you want to stay independent, go for it." Clockblocker replied, walking beside me with Vista on the other side of him. "Hell, if you want to just come on over to the tower to play some videogames, you're welcome! If anyone gives you any trouble, tell them I invited you."

"Yeah, me too!" Vista eagerly added with a nod.

I smiled at that. I might take them up on the offer but… the PRT's and Wards' image was already tarnished for me. Sure the individual Wards sounded like great people but the program itself had flaws.

Plus, the more I thought about it, the less I liked the fact that I'd have someone telling me what to do.

Shaking my head to remove those thoughts I glanced around to see where we were.

"We're going into an alley?" Vista seemed confused but followed me in.

"Yeah, we just entered E88 territory." I confirmed, patting my pockets to ensure I had all my gear.

"Well, it's your patrol so lead on, Kimosabi!" Clock stated, stretching out his arms.

It was about thirty five minutes of wandering through the alleys in E88 territory before our first spot of action happened.

Of course, coming face to face with Alabaster leading a crew of skinheads isn't usually what you expect to happen.

We stared at each other for a moment before called out across the distance. "One knife each, first to ten?"

"What are you doing?!" Vista hissed at me.

"Do not interfere." Alabaster commanded the skinheads while flipping out one of his switchblade.

"Look, just let me handle this. Okay?" I said back to the two PRT heroes.

"I should really call this in." Clockblocker said, phone already in his hand.

"No, just let me do my thing. You guys stay back and watch." I replied before pulling out my own knife.

Walking out, I met Alabaster under a working lamp hanging on a line strung across the alley. "First to ten points wins. Any hit that would disable or kill someone normal is a point."

"Interesting… You think have a chance to defeat me." The pale skinned man mused, fingering the point of his blade.

"Hey, I've been practicing really hard." I defended myself, fishing a penny out of my pocket.

"We shall see, my dear. We shall see." He smiled his freaky slasher smile at me.

I tossed the penny into the air and fell into a defensive stance I'd practiced from the Marine training book. The air was silent for a second, then the sound of copper hitting concrete rang out.

Rush in, dodge, poke and miss. Slide back out of range. Slide in, twist around his stab. Jab him in the thigh and twist.

"How interesting…" He drawled in his rich baritone voice as he looked at the new hole in his grey pants. He then looked up towards me and his slasher smile disappeared.

Crap.

Dodge! Block, poke. Respawn. Duck, dive, twist! Slash and Stab! Block… it was a feint! Respawn. Jab, jab, slash! Lean back, thrust low, twist, stab high. Slide left. Respawn. Parry, Block, twist. Stab! Back, back, back! Get in and stab. Respawn.

"And so it ends." Alabaster drawled, putting away his knife with an utterly blank face.

I blinked and rolled the last few minutes in my head. Huh, I lost. Not super horribly, only by five points but I still lost.

I sighed as I sheathed my blade. "Nice fight."

"It was… adequate."

We then turned and walked back towards our respective teams.

"Come on, let's go." I told the two wards, moving back out of E88 territory.

"Wait. Did that seriously just happen?" Vista asked, trotting to catch up but glancing behind us.

"Yeah, that was really freaky." Clockblocker pitched in, disquieted.

I just smirked under my mask. "You get used to it."

o0O0o

 **20 Mar – Noon**

"I wish I could say 'I can't believe you did that' but…" Vikki sardonically stated, walking beside me with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Don't 'what' me! You're like the Suicide Queen or something!" Vikki replied with a shake of her head. "I know I'm reckless but you're like a step or two higher on the crazy chain."

"Hey, he's good baseline! I mean, I've been working hard and it shows!" I complained, crossing my arms.

"You challenged Alabaster to a knife fight." The blonde to my left dryly replied, as if that was justification.

"Whatever… How did you hear about it anyways?" I asked with a furrowed brow. "It was only Clock and Vista with me."

"My boyfriend told me." Vikki confidently answered with a grin.

"You're going out with Clockblocker?!" I ask with incredulity as I stepped away from the blonde.

"What?! No! Ew!" Her face twisted into disgust. "Don't say things like that!"

I couldn't help it, I burst out with laughter at her reaction.

"Ew! It's not funny, Taylor!" She complained, jerking her head away from me.

"Sorry but the look on your face!" I somehow got out through gasps of breath as I calmed down.

"No, Dean told me." Vikki steered back to the topic with a roll of her eyes.

"So, how did Dean know? Is he friends with the Wards, too?" I asked in confusion.

"You could say that." Vikki cryptically replied before glancing around. Leaning in, she hid a whisper by cupping her hands to my ear. "Dean is Gallant."

I blinked in surprise and jerked back. "Really?"

Vikky nodded with a bright smile. "Really!"

Huh. Thinking about it, Vikki has always been really friendly with Gallant whenever I've seen them together.

"That's cool, I guess." I said, still lost in thought.

"You guess?!" Vikki parroted before wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "Girl, we have got to find you a boyfriend so you 'know'."

Oh, thanks, Vikki. I can feel my face going nuclear now. Awesome.

"Just think about it! We could go on double dates and everything!" Vikki continued to tease me.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! Dean is awesome!" I yelled out, pushing out from her grasp to see her smirking in victory.

That's about the point we reached Brockton General Hospital and went inside. The main reception was pretty orderly, people entering or leaving as they will. Some people were conversing with the information desk while another group was trying to console a crying woman.

Vikki led me past all this, heading towards the Emergency area. We went down a couple hallways, Vikki having to show her identification a couple times, before we reached a nurses' station.

"Can I help you?" An overweight man in green scrubs asked after setting down a file.

"Yeah, I'm looking for my sister, Amy Dallon. You know, Panacea." Vikki answered, holding out her ID card once more.

The man, Jerry, looked at it before glancing towards a something behind the counter. "She's… currently assisting Dr Green at the moment. Let me page him."

I stood silently, holding my left arm, as Jerry's voice came over the intercom for Dr Green. The phone behind the desk rang a minute later, the nurse relaying Vikki's presence and situation. It's interesting to see people nodding while on the phone. You know, like the person on the other side can see them.

"Okay, your sister is on her way." Jerry said before returning to whatever he was doing.

"What's up?" I asked, seeing the look on Vikki's face.

The blonde just sighed, brushing some hair out of her face. "It's just… Ames likes to help out here at the hospital but she just… loses herself in it."

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm… you know how you can lose track of time watching TV?"

I was more likely to do so with a good book but yeah. I nodded and gestured for my friend to go on.

"Well, Ames just loses herself in healing people."

"That's not a bad thing." I hedged, still not understanding the mild frustration showing on Vikki's face.

"She's been here since four o'clock yesterday."

I blinked at that before it really registered in my mind. That was around twenty hours of just healing people…

"Does she not need sleep?" There were people with that power. Maybe Amy had that with her healing ability.

"Yeah, she does." Vikki answered. "She just sometimes gets into a mood where she works until she collapses."

What do you say to that? I couldn't really think of anything but platitudes so decided to let silence fall over our conversation.

After a little longer of a wait, Vikki pushed off the wall. "Ames!"

"Vikki, what do you need?"

Woah… Vikki wasn't kidding. Her sister looked like she was barely standing on her feet, her eyes looking tired and drooping closed before widening once again. Even her Panacea costume looked worn and rumpled.

"Ames, come on. You need something to eat and then some sleep." The blonde said with concern, moving over to wrap an arm around her sister.

Amy sluggishly pushed the arm away, not quite stumbling but obviously not completely steady. "No, Vikki. There's still more I have to do."

"Ames," Vikki spoke softly, reaching out to hold the brown haired girl's shoulders, "there's always going to be more, but you can't keep doing this. You need to take care of yourself."

We pushed up against the wall as a nurse rushed by, a cart rattling before her till she turned into a room further up the hall.

"I need to go." Amy tried to free herself from her sister's grip.

"No, you need to get some food and rest!" Vikki argued, pulling Amy away as another nurse rushed into the same room. I saw Vikki look towards me for help.

"You should listen to your sister, Amy. She's just worried about you." I spoke up, moving towards the two sisters.

Amy's look turned harsh. "Who are you?"

"Her name's Taylor and she's a friend of mine." Vikki said in my favor.

"So you're bringing your friends here to force me?" Amy accused, narrowing her tired eyes.

"No, I just bumped into Vikki and followed her." I lied, hoping the tired Dallon girl didn't call me on it. "But Vikki has reason to be worried. You look like you could use some sleep."

When Amy looked like she'd argue more, Vikki preempted her. "Look, just come get some food and if you still want to help out, you can just come back." She indicated the nurses and doctors moving from room to room. "They can handle things while you get some food, right?"

Amy just let out a sigh. "Fine. But I'm coming back after I eat."

Vikki smiled at that, like she'd won the argument and everything that followed would go her way.

We wound up at a nearby sandwich shop, sitting at a booth with the two sisters on one side and me on the other. Amy had changed out of her Panacea costume and wore a simple forest green blouse and black skirt. She was slowly eating her chicken salad sandwich while Vikki and I had a tuna melt for each of us.

It was interesting to watch but I guess now that she had a chance to sit down and relax, the brunette Dallon sister just slowly… shut down.

Vikki and I shared a small smile between us as Amy rested with her head on her sister's shoulder. The closed eyes and even breathing made it completely obvious that she was fast asleep.

Vikki just sighed. "It's about time. You mind helping me with her?"

"Sure."

Getting Amy back to the Dallon home was a small adventure in itself. We called a cab and I had to help Vikki maneuver her sister in and out of it. Eventually, though, Vikki was carrying Amy bridal style into their home and putting her to bed.

Coming back down the stairs, she ran a hand through her slightly frazzled hair. "Hey, thanks for the help."

"No problem." I looked up the staircase. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah." She replied, heading over to the fridge and pulling a couple sodas out. "She just does this sometime. I wish I knew why."

I accepted the can and opened it to take a sip. "You two do seem… different." I realised what I was about to say at the last second and tried to not eat my foot.

Vikki just let out a dark chuckle. "Oh, she's adopted but it's not a secret. I still love her like she was my sister by birth."

I sat down at the kitchen table with her, feeling the cool can between my hands. "Maybe she's thinking about her parents. You know, her biological parents."

"Maybe." Vikki hedged before shaking her head sadly. "I don't know. I mean, all I know is that Mom and Dad knew them but they won't talk about them and… maybe Amy knows but she was pretty messed up when she started living with us."

I didn't know what to say to that. What could I say?

o0O0o

 **28 Mar - Morning**

Okay, onto the home stretch… literally. I can literally see home coming closer and closer as my feet eat up concrete.

"Morning, Taylor!"

I wave to the neighbor. I'm too focused on managing my breath for more.

I finally reach the driveway and slow to a walk. Reaching into the bed of the truck, I pull out a water bottle and start drinking as I continue walking circles around the parked vehicle.

After the fifth walk around, I take a deep breath and head into the house.

"Dad, I'm home!"

"Welcome back, Taylor." Dad calls back from the kitchen. The smell of cooking bacon fills the house and makes my stomach grumble.

"Hmm, that smells amazing." I sniff the air, wandering towards the kitchen.

"Whoa. Hold it there, kiddo." Dad gives me a stern look even as he pokes at the pan. "You look like you just ran a marathon, so stay out till you clean up."

"I did run a marathon!" I proudly exclaimed with a wide smile. "Well, a quarter marathon."

"Really? That's impressive! How long is that? Four, five miles?"

"Six and a half!" I declare, planting my hands on my hips proudly.

"Nice!" Dad cheered for me, placing the cooked bacon on a plate and then placing it in the oven. "Have plans to join the track team? You might have a chance at a scholarship."

I shake my head, the wet sweaty ponytail slapping my neck. Ugh… I really need to take a shower. "Can't because of my powers."

"Oh…" Dad grimaced slightly. "That's too bad."

"Hey, I'm going to go take a shower. I'll be back down in a bit."

"Okay. I'll wait off on finishing breakfast for fifteen minutes." Dad offered up, pulling the pan off the gas fire.

"Love you, daddy!" I cutely say, playing like I was about to hug him.

"You, shower, now!" He quickly responded with a laugh.

Snagging some clean clothes, I headed into the bathroom to clean up. Peeling off the sweat soaked running clothes, I took a second to look in the mirror.

Damn, all that hard work is paying off!

Flexing my right arm, I see definite muscle. You know, not like I'm super butch 'Olga break you' levels of muscle mass but sharp defined muscles. I was still lacking in the bust and hip department though. I let out a sigh as I knew there was little I could do for that but at least my tummy was tight.

Peeling off my underwear, I hopped under the stream of steamy water.

It felt like nirvana!

Long story short, I got cleaned up and came downstairs just as Dad was placing the plates on the table. I finished wrapping my hair up in the towel with a twist and sat down looking at the tasty food.

"Feeling better, kiddo?" Dad asked as he sat down himself.

"So much better!" I agreed, spreading some butter on the toast. "Thanks for breakfast, Dad!" I punctuated that statement by biting into the slice of toast.

"So, what are your plans for today?"

"Well, I figured I'd call Vikki to see if she wants to do anything. If not, I'll see if the Wards want to hang out and play videogames or something. I still need to beat Vista at Dance Dance Revolution."

Dad put his mug of coffee down without drinking any. I put the bacon I was about to bite into back to the plate once I noticed how sad he looked.

"Dad… You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just… I feel like we're drifting away some." Dad replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

I scrunched my brow at that, trying to parse it in my head. "What do you mean?"

Dad just let out a sigh. "Maybe it's just seeing you growing up and this is just one of those things parents go through. I just notice you going out more than you used to. You're… you're changing and becoming your own woman." He smiled sadly. "Your mother would be so proud of how strong and mature you've become just this year alone."

I looked down to the plate of partially eaten breakfast unsure what to say.

"How about you spend the day with your dear old dad today instead?"

I didn't really have anything else planned and spending time with Dad was fun, too. "Sure. What do you want to do?"

"Well, remember the observatory they opened up last year?"

Yeah, it was a big collaboration between two tinkers to make a more efficient telescope up in the mountains to the west. It was an hour or so drive to get to, though. "Yeah. Something happening there?"

"Well, they've got a big show they've developed in their planetarium and they're advertising that you can even use a new simulator they built. I think it'll be fun to check it out."

"Sure, I'll get changed after I finish eating."

The shorts and t-shirt I was wearing was definitely not clothes for late winter mountains.

o0O0o

 **14 Apr - Late Evening**

Things were starting to turn routine when it came to patrols. I know boring is good but there's only so many times you can patrol downtown with the Wards or hunt down low level goons for the ABB or E88. Hell, even knocking over a Merchant base was becoming passe.

Still, I was doing something to help the city by being a thorn in the side of the gangs. It might not be much but it's more than what the PRT and New Wave are doing as a whole… at least I like to think so.

The PRT, once I stepped back to look at them, wanted to keep the status quo. Sure, they'd rather put the bad guys behind bars but they didn't want to risk a gang war to do so. They were there to protect the common man and did the best they could but just taking the 'safe route' was letting the gangs continue to grow like a cancer.

New Wave was just a family of parahumans… well, two families now but connected by blood relations. Even though they had just as many capes as the Brockton Bay PRT, they had less overall protection if villains ambushed them for revenge. Considering that had happened in the past, it seemed the adults of New Wave were wary to kick the ant's nest again with so many underaged heros waiting to be targeted.

Then there was me, one of the few independent heroes in Brockton Bay. I didn't answer to anyone but I also had no support other than what friends I could make. I didn't have the PRT completely behind me like the Wards did but didn't have the PRT directing my life either. Dad was just a normal person but the fact that no one knew my civilian identity was the greatest protection he had. Hell, that was the only protection we had.

So, since I was the only hero that actually did something in the city to fight back against the gangs, I was back out into ABB controlled territory looking for something to happen.

Ever hear about the saying 'be careful what you wish for, you might just get it'? Yeah, I should have payed more attention to that. So, because I couldn't be content with boring, I now had fucking dragon chasing after me.

Yes, dragon. As in giant fire breathing lizard type of dragon only this one was named Lung. As in Lung, leader of the ABB gang and able to fight an Endbringer to standstill… by himself.

Okay, maybe I should take a step back and explain how things got to this point.

I was actually trying something new this time; you know, to keep things interesting. Instead of sticking to the alleyways I was trying my hand at roof hopping.

Yes, I know my first experiments failed horribly but I'm much more physically fit. I can actually make it from building to building now. Not all the time but I can tell which one's I need to use a charge on instead of falling to my death.

Anyways, I was up on the roofs when I saw a gout of flame flare up from an alley a block away. A cloud of shadows leaped up after, coming towards me, blocking my direct view of the next gout of flame.

I found out later that the cloud of darkness was caused by a petty villain named Grue who lead the small time villain team the Undersiders.

Basically, the Undersiders tried to run me over with a dragon, who is Lung.

Don't think any of them expected me to have some charges stored up, you know, so I could leap across streets and stuff.

The wave of darkness washed over me, leaving me deaf and blind before passing as the Undersiders flowed around me. I found out later they were all riding Bitch's dogs.

Anyways, once I could see again, I found myself facing a partially transformed Lung barreling down on me.

If you had to know what I was thinking at the time, it was basically, 'Fuck it. What's he going to do? Kill me?'

So, what'd I do? I punched him in the face… hard. So hard that he crashed into the edge of the building he just jumped off of and fell down into the alley between.

"Holy shit!" I glanced back to see the shadows gone, leaving awestruck teens astride three monstrous dogs. Later on, I realised that it was Regent who had yelled out in surprise but I had other things to worry about at the moment.

"Get out of here! I'll hold him off!" I cried back to them.

"Are you insane?!" The guy dressed in all black with a skull helmet exclaimed. "You're going to die!"

"Yeah, that sorta happens." I cheekily replied, turning back in time to experience the roof quaking under Lung's landing.

His dragon form was more complete now, his face a more elongated snout with a muscled tail swinging behind him and big webbed wings flaring out from his back. I have to wonder why he resembled a more western dragon instead of an eastern one.

"Hey, you overgrown lizard!" Okay, I had him looking at me now. "Go soak your head!"

Not all insult can be winners. Still, the blast of fire he blew at me was good enough to show I had his full attention.

Have I mentioned how uncomfortable it is to be burned alive, yet? I mean, it's not enough that you're being cooked on the outside but if you breath it in… completely over the line of 'warm and toasty' into charbroiled.

That one breath of fire killed me three and a half times.

Once it passed, I forced a reset, looking up into the great dragon of Okinawa.

"Ever hear of breath mints, asshole?!"

Okay, getting smashed into jelly was a new, if brief, experience. I popped back into being a couple yards to the left of his clawed paw.

I swear, I could see Lung look from me, back to his right paw and back to me.

I punched him in the face again. He fell down into the alley again.

"Hey, whoever you are!" A girl's voice broke the silence, though it was punctuated by a cough. Guess she took a hit or something. Maybe smoke inhalation.

"It's Respawn." I called over to their roof.

"Whatever it is, try to lead Lung back that way. There's an ABB warehouse." She tried to say more but broke down in more hacking coughs.

I had a split second to think about it. I had a pissed off dragon, a group of teens capes with one injured and a location of an ABB warehouse.

"You guys stay safe! I'm off to tweak the nose of a dragon!" I yelled before jumping down after Lung. Just so happened, I jumped down while he jumped up and I crushed myself on his face.

Once my body slid to a stop, I respawned and gathered my bearings.

I was looking at the Undersiders. The Undersiders were looking at me. Lung was looking at me 'through' the undersiders… Well, shit.

"Scatter!" Grue called out, causing Bitch's dogs to leap in three different directions.

A stream of darkness shot out to cover Lung's face for a moment, causing him to try and wipe it away like sand in his eye. Eventually Lung's body flared with fire, burning away the darkness and leaving me standing in front of a completely transformed and very pissed off Lung.

I broke out into a dead sprint, headed into the direction the purple girl, later known to be Tattletale, pointed the warehouse to be in. Leaping off the edge of the roof, I heard Lung scrambling behind me, a gout of flame enveloping my body for a split second, killing me once. The landing killed me a second time in just as many seconds.

I heard Lung crash to the ground behind me a second after I broke out into another dead sprint down the alley. Leaping over a pile of trash, I kicked off a dumpster to turn down an intersection. Behind me, it sounded like a monster was chasing me, trashing everything it could get it's claws on… and one was.

I eventually found a warehouse, figured any warehouse was a good warehouse and dove through a window.

Seems I was lucky. It was an ABB warehouse, as goons stared at me rolling out of the dive to quickly run further in between shelves stacked with crates of stuff. The dragon entered through the same window… and wall, a moment later.

Did I mention he's a fire breathing dragon?

Screams and fire alarms and panic for everybody!

Busting out the back exit, I stabbed myself quickly to regain my stamina. Left or right? Right!

I continued my flight as Lung burst out of the back wall, fire and smoke and screams following him… and me.

Glancing back, I saw him gaining on me. Looking forward, I figured I'd have to time it just right…

Hearing him gain ground on me by the second, I waited till the last moment and burned a charge to jump. Grabbing onto the edge of the roof, I looked down to see Lung crash into and through the wall below me. I actually laughed at the absurdity of it all.

Then the roof started to collapse.

Flipping myself over the edge, I started running. I swear, it was like one of those action movies, where the hero runs while the bridge conveniently collapses just behind him with just enough time to make a harrowing leap to the other side.

Taking out my knife, I stabbed myself fresh before turning around to look at the damage I had wrought.

So... that's two buildings on fire or destroyed and I've still got a pissed off dragon to deal with. Looking around quickly, I spotted one of the monster dogs on a nearby roof. Burning a charge, I leapt over and skidded to a stop in front of Grue.

"Okay, now what?!" I asked, glancing back at the growing flames and roars. "Know of any more warehouses?"

I didn't get a reply as a third person appeared on the roof and tossed something at my feet.

Dying via grenade! I'm setting all sorts of firsts tonight!

Explanation time: This is Oni Lee. He teleports, leaves clones and likes to blow things up. That about wraps him up in a nutshell.

"This getting fucking ridiculous!" I yelled out, seeing the monster dog Greu was riding leaping away with Oni Lee chasing him. A monstrous roar from behind reminded me I'd forgotten about the dragon.

Chomped by a dragon; check.

Okay, by this respawn I'd figured this is basically ABB territory. Any warehouse could pretty much be an ABB warehouse and if it wasn't they should have insurance.

I lept across the street using a boosted jump, hearing Lung catching up behind me. I was running low on charges and never really had many to begin with. Up ahead, I saw a skylight with light coming out of it. It looked big enough to be a warehouse… it'll do.

I crashed through the skylight in a shatter of glass, falling into the building below. The crash into the tables set up instead of shelves still caused a massive mess as things flew everywhere. Standing up, I shook my head clear of the dust and machine pieces that fell all over me.

"Who the fuck are you?!"

Blinking I turned to see a woman wearing a gas mask pick up a… some sort of gun and start pointing it in my direction.

Explanation time: This is Bakuda. She likes bombs. She's a bitch.

That's when Lung stuck his head through the skylight and started breathing fire.

And now we're all caught up to the present. Have a nice trip through time? I know I didn't.

Scrambling over the broken table of tinker parts, I burst out the back door, hearing dragon roars and cursing behind me. Turning down the alley, I pulled out my phone and pressed send.

"PRT Hotline. What is the nature of your emergency?"

"Lung! Dragon! Fire! Help!" I'm actually proud I was able to get all that out between gasps for air. Flipping the phone closed and pocketing it again, I leapt to the roofs once more.

Of course Oni Lee was up there and of course he started chasing me too.

"Motherfucker!" I yelled, diving down into the alley as the roof exploded behind me. It was a hard landing but the respawn refilled my stamina again, allowing me to sprint once again.

I think I should really have started playing Benny Hill's Yakety Sax song a long time ago, cause that's how my life was going at the moment.

I sprinted out of the alley, across the street, into the next alley and turned the corner to stare down the very large gun Bakuda pointed at me. I dropped down into a slid as she pulled the trigger, whatever she fired flying just over my head. I heard a pop behind me, not really an explosion but I didn't care, it had missed me.

Sliding between her legs, I got my feet under me and kicked off up to another roof. Screw staying in a narrow alley with a woman shooting a grenade launcher at me! Sure, she might not be able to kill me but dying still hurt, damn it!

I jumped a couple more roofs before coming to a stop and catch my breath by stabbing myself. Looking out over the area, I saw multiple fires and destroyed buildings. Oni Lee had stopped following me and Bakuda was somewhere below doing who knows what with that grenade launcher of hers.

Oh, and off in the distance Lung was chasing around some mobile figures, one of whom can shoot out darkness.

God damn it…

It took me a minute to get back to the fight, just in time to see Lung trip over his own two… four feet and crash down into yet another alley.

Okay, I had stamina resets but I could still feel myself running out of steam. Guess I never had to push myself this hard before. Who knew a dragon and his gang could be so tough to battle?

"I called for help! They should be on the way!" I yelled out as I landed near Regent and Tattletale. The girl was looking a little pale and clutching her head.

"How much longer?" Regent called back, jerking his hand towards him. Lung's left back paw missed the edge of the roof and he fell back into the alley, tearing a chunk of the roof off with him. I'm guessing that took a lot of effort because Regent's silk clothes were drenched with sweat.

"Five, maybe ten minutes." I returned before pushing forward towards the fire lizard.

It's hard to explain what happened next really. I mean, I died a few times to either fire or lizard damage. I punched Lung a couple times. Grue tried to keep Lung blind as much as he could but it wasn't doing much anymore.

Eventually, though, I saw flashing lights reflecting off buildings a couple blocks over but they weren't moving closer.

Well, why not bring the dragon to the PRT?

"Hey, Lung! Your mama was a gecko and your daddy was a pilot light!"

Childish, I know but it got his attention on me again.

Another hair raising chase later and I landed right smack dab into the middle of a standoff between the PRT and Bakuda.

Fuck my life.

Okay, so a lot of things happened all at once.

Bakuda took my entrance as a signal to start shooting grenades off wildly. Just so happens that she's a tinker, so these grenades do crazy stupid shit like turn people to mold or distort the fabric of space and time. Most of them went wide of either me or the PRT. Some of them didn't.

I'd rather not think of the results.

What I do know is the one that landed near me was a concussion grenade of some sort. You know, a wave of force and all. This one was strong enough to send me flying. Like, over the head of Lung, who was diving towards Bakuda, and back towards where the Undersiders were.

I got the briefest glimpse of Miss Militia shooting towards Bakuda with a rifle of some sort before I lost sight of it all.

All I know is that explosions went off all over the city a split second later. Basically everywhere except ABB controlled territory.

Landing face first, I forced a reset and slowly got up, spitting out some dirt. In front of me, were the Undersiders still astride the giant monster dogs.

"Thanks for the help." Grue offered with a nod.

"No problem." I automatically replied before scratching my masked cheek.

Regent let out a weak laugh. "If this is 'No problem' I'd hate to see what actually troubles you, girl."

"Grue." Tattletale called out weakly, almost through clenched teeth.

"Yeah?"

Like a switch being flipped, my adrenaline wore off. At least I think so, cause the world went sideways before going black.

Last think I remember was Tattletale's voice ghosting in on the wind, "Take her with us."

Then I woke up in a bed.

o0O0o

 **End of Chapter 5**

o0O0o

 **A/N**

Edit notice: I tweaked the ending slightly after waking up: having Taylor pass out instead of agreeing to leave with Undersiders.

So, I spent around ten hours writing this, which is pretty damn good for me. I'm tired, but I'm traveling in the morning, so I'm gonna post this and maybe fix any typos later as small edits.

 **Cheb  
** Thanks for the review, friend. I've got ideas bouncing in my head for Crimson Hunter but this is what's working for me right now. I still plan on getting back to it but I think it'll have to wait till KCaR is done.

 **Edale  
** That would be a nice kicker but it'd interrupt the flow some. Thanks for the thought though!


	6. Chapter 6

Keep Calm and Respawn

A Worm Fanfiction

By: Konsaki

PHO Interlude

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Topic: 14 April - Brockton Bay 'Night of Hell'

In: Boards: Brockton Bay Activity

VicViper (Original Poster) (UUDDLRLRS)

Originally Posted on 14 April 2011:

 _Edit: I cleaned up the OP so we could start gathering info into one place. This is a seriously fucked up situation so having all the updates in one spot can't hurt._

 _(Mod Edit: Changed the Topic for clarity – Mr. Smith)_

Okay, I know I'm not Bagrat or the other 'guys in the know' but I'll do my best. So, what do we know?

Sometime around 2000-2100hrs, 8pm to 9pm, a lot of stuff was going down in BB:

The Travelers (Info Link)

• They robbed the Fells Wargo bank on North 23rd

• PRT responded, socking up most of their Cape power

• Travelers held fighting retreat and got away with an estimated $400k USD

ABB/Undersiders

• Seems the Undersiders (Info Link) pissed off Lung (Info Link) something fierce

• Respawn (Info Link) intervened sometime during this

• Some people are saying they saw a girl in red (Respawn) being chased by a firebreathing dragon (Lung)

• Overall results are multiple buildings destroyed and fires that are still burning

Bakuda (New ABB Cape?) (Edit: confirmed new ABB cape: Tinker)

• Responding to Respawn's call for help, the PRT diverts Miss Militia and troopers /w plans to send Armsmaster /w second wave once armed for Lung

• PRT find Bakuda on the streets, start a standoff once Bakada identified as ABB

• Respawn jumps into middle, sets off Bakuda, who shoots out a bunch of grenades

• 5 Trooper deaths, 4 injuries… Tinker grenades, Not repeating details

• Respawn ejected from combat via grenade… doesn't make sense to me

• Miss Milita shoots Bakuda /w powers (Info Link)

• (speculation)Bakuda triggers a failsafe or escape plan as Lung jumps into fight

• Bakuda and Lung disappear along with some of the street (Pics)

Brockton Bay explodes

• Just after Bakuda and Lung disappear, tinker bombs go off all over the city

• Current count is up to forty six separate explosions of varying type and power

• Targets seem random but are all located outside of ABB claimed territory

As of 0830 on 15 Ap

• Rescue efforts are still underway but casualty tallies are in the low thousands

• Targeted businesses had fewer casualties than apartments/hotels due to time of day

• Boardwalk closed until survey and repairs can be done

Official PRT statement can be found HERE

The Mayor's official response to this can be found HERE

If you're out of town and think a loved one is a casualty, THIS is the PRT's support page.

Whew, hopefully that covers everything. If I've missed something, send me a PM and I'll add it once I have time.

Viewing page 1… 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10… 15

CanabaraHill

Posted on 15 April 2011:

Look, all I'm saying is that she's got a hand in all this, so we need to hear her side of things.

I'm not blaming her but you have to admit things coulda gone a lot differently if she hadn't stuck her nose in it.

Glory Girl (Verified Hero) (New Wave)

Posted on 15 April 2011

Hey, jackass, Respawn is a good friend and this isn't her fault! If you want to blame anyone, it's the damn Undersiders and ABB that caused all this! Blame them!

Now, Panacea is going to work herself to death trying to save everyone she can from Bakuda's bullshit!

Gah! I want to punch that bitch so hard right in the face!

Tin_Mother (Site Admin)

Posted on 15 April 2011

Okay, things are getting a little too heated in this thread. I understand that everyone is on edge from last night but please keep things civil.

If things don't cool down some, we'll be forced to start handing out temp bans and none of us want that.

UltimateFaker (Verified Fake)

Posted on 15 April 2011:

• AndersonsSon

I wouldn't call the ABB dead yet. I mean, it's been less than a day and there still Oni Lee out there.

I wouldn't bet on Lung and Bakuda being dead either. You know the saying, 'where's the body?'

I'm more worried about what's going to happen with the E88 and Merchants till Lung shows back up. I mean, I know they both got hit hard but they still have Capes left, assuming they aren't just hiding them for a sneaky play.

Either way, things are going to be crazy for the next couple weeks. Mark my words…

Child_of_God

Posted on 15 April 2011

The demons of this Earth show their true being, slaughtering the Lord's children like a scythe through grain.

Now is the time for His children to turn their face to the Father, lest the damnation of hellfire be thine final reward!

BrocktonBrat

Posted on 15 April 2011

Get the fuck off this board you religious nutjob! People are already hurting because of fanatics, we don't need your sorry ass adding fuel to the fires!

o0O0o

Topic: Anyone Seen Respawn?

In: Boards: Brockton Bay Discussion

GetOffMyLawn (Original Poster)

Originally Posted on 15 April 2011:

Has anyone seen Respawn since the bombs went off?

Viewing 1, 2, 3, 4

JrCarl

Posted on 15 April 2011:

Haven't heard of any sightings but she was running from Lung. We still aren't exactly sure how her powers work, so… Well, I hope she's fine but he held off Leviathan. He's kinda why the ABB still exist.

Glory Girl (Verified Hero) (New Wave)

Posted on 15 April 2011:

She's not answering her phone but messages are still going through. I'm pretty sure she's fine but… yeah, I'm a little worried considering everything happening.

o0O0o

New Private Message!

Viewing: Private Message Inbox

Topic: Respawn is fine.

From: All_Seeing_Eye

Received 14 Apr 2011

Respawn is fine. She's sleeping right now. Once she wakes up, I'll tell her to call you.

To: All_Seeing_Eye

Sent 14 April 2011

Who are you and how can I trust you?

From: All_Seeing_Eye

Received 14 April 2011

That's a secret and you'll can't.

To: All_Seeing_Eye

Sent 15 April 2011

Why hasn't she called?!

From: All_Seeing_Eye

Received 15 April 2011

Because she hasn't woken up yet…

o0O0o

16 Apr - ?

I woke up in a bed.

That in itself isn't anything unusual; I wake up in a bed every morning. But, you know, it's usually my bed… in my room in my home.

Instead, I was in a darkened room with dim light leaking around black curtains. It was just enough light for me to see everything in a grey color scale. With that, I could see the bed was a simple twin with plain sheets and blanket. A plain wooden chair in the corner had my coat folded over the back and my boots sitting on it.

Blinking, I threw off the covers to see I was still wearing the rest of my costume and I let out a breath of relief.

That's also the moment when my stomach decided it wasn't happy. You know, by letting out a ferocious growl and trying to devour my spleen.

Oh, God! How long have I been asleep?!

Slipping out of the bed, I moved over to put on my boots and coat. Ugh… every time I moved my stomach was taking another bite out of my intestines.

Fully dressed, I snuck to the door and put my ear against it. Silence from the other side was a good thing. The knob had the lock on the inside, like a bedroom door would, so I turned it and slowly opened the door and peeked out.

It opened into a darkened room. One much bigger than the bedroom I woke up in. Sneaking through the door, I slowly turned my head, listening for anything and everything.

My stomach growling again made me cringe. In the silence, it sounded super loud.

Off to my left was salvation! A microwave! And where there is a microwave, there's usually a fridge! And where there's a fridge, there's food!

Upon pulling it open, the light from inside shone like the light of God declaring this the promised land!

Let's see: beer, wine cooler, milk, pickles… sandwiches! Jackpot!

I took a bite of the tuna salad sandwich and almost fainted at the taste. Then I devoured the rest of it in a few seconds, stuffing it in my mouth like a gerbil. Reaching in, I grabbed the jug of milk and used it to force the tuna down into my stomach, trying to get it to stop it's one sided war with the rest of my insides.

Letting out a breath, I started in on the next and then the next… and then the NEXT sandwich, chugging milk the entire time before I finally felt satiated.

"Feel better now?"

I let out a shocked shriek, dropping the jug of milk and jerking towards the voice, pulling out my knife.

There, in the glow cast out of the open fridge behind me, a sleepy looking blonde girl with a black mask over her eyes who was leaning her elbows on the island between her and me. If I had to guess, she was a little older than me. Her sleep shirt also didn't hide the valley of her assets as it hung off a shoulder.

"Who are you?! Where am I?!" I hissed out, glancing around into the darkness for anyone else.

"I'm Tattletale and you're at my place." Tattletale easily replied… though the fact she wasn't in any real costume had me curious.

"Why?"

"Because after what you did for us, we couldn't leave you on that roof."

That kicked my brain into gear, making connections and logical leaps. "You're that girl in purple."

"Yeah, that's my costume." Tattletale nodded with a small smile.

We stood there in silence for a moment while I thought about what to ask next. "How long was I out?"

Tattletale glanced at the microwave clock that showed 0427. "A little over a day." She let out a yawn, hiding it behind a hand before she blinked. "Oh, call your dad."

"What?" I blinked in return, confused by the sudden change in conversation.

"I told your dad I'd tell you to call him when you woke up." She supplied with a shrug before pointing towards the bedroom I woke up in. "That room is yours until you leave. I plugged your phone into a charger, so it should be good to go."

I looked at her, still suspicious of her motives. "Why are you helping me so much?"

"Because I'd be dead if it wasn't for you." She let out a light snort of sardonic humor. "I'd like to think my life is worth more than a safe place to sleep and a meal."

"Sorry." My apology was more automatic than anything.

"Just go call your dad. We'll talk more after that." Tattletale said to me, yawning once more behind her hand.

"Sure, I'll hold you to that." I replied, bending down to pick up the milk jug from the floor. Luckily, I had drunk so much that it hadn't spilt. Tattletale did raise an eyebrow when I put it back in the fridge but I ignored it to head back into the bedroom.

Closing the door behind me, I reached around the wall and found the light switch, flooding the room with illumination. True to her word, my cell phone was resting on the floor beside the bed, a charging cord hooking it up to the wall outlet.

Wow, there were a lot of missed calls and unread messages.

I ignored them for now, manually dialing the number to the phone at home. It was the fourth ring before it picked up and Dad's tired voice slurred over. "Who-is this?"

"Dad, it's me."

Silence held the line before Dad whispered in fearful hope, "Taylor?"

"Yeah, it's me. I just woke up."

"Thank God!" I could feel the relief in his voice. "Are you okay? Where are you? What happened?"

I almost laughed at how fast he asked those questions, except I'd just gone through that with Tattletale not minutes before. "I'm okay, Dad. I guess I overdid it with my powers and passed out."

"It's been over a day, Taylor!"

"I know, Dad. Sorry about worrying you."

"We'll talk more about that when you get home. Now where are you?" Dad's voice promised I wasn't getting out of that explanation and discussion. It wasn't like I planned on fighting Lung…

"I'm… we'll I don't know where exactly but the people I saved from Lung… well, they took me back to their place to rest up. Once I get some more answers, I'm coming home."

He heard the confidence in my voice and sighed. "Okay. I'll wait up for you. I love you, Taylor."

"Love you to, Dad." I replied with a long breath. "I'll see you soon."

"See you then."

I closed the connection with a button press and switched it to the messaging application. I raised an eyebrow at how many messages Vikki had left on my phone. I selected the last one I received and started penning a reply.

'Vikki, I'm fine. Overused powers and had to sleep it off. Talk to you more later today.'

I let out a breath, pocketed phone and headed towards the bedroom door. Now to get some more answers.

I found Tattletale sitting at a small dinner table, nursing a small cup of tea. I took a seat on the other side of her, finding the light hanging above the table dimmed just enough to see by.

"Why was Lung trying to kill you?"

She hummed at my question, setting down her teacup before yawning behind a hand. "Sorry, not used to waking up this early."

I just waved for her to get on with it.

"Okay, okay." She chuckled lightly. "Myself and the others; we're the Undersiders. The reason Lung was after us is because we stole from him."

"You stole from a dragon." I flatly reinterpreted. In the stories, stealing from dragons was a surefire way to get you and everything around you killed. Sure, Lung was human, but he was a Cape Villain more importantly.

The blonde sitting before me just smiled slightly. "Yes. Yes, we did." She let out a breath, running a hand through her long hair. "Thing was, Lung wasn't even supposed to know we were there."

"So, you screwed up and got caught?"

Tattletale looked angry at that, but oddly not towards me. "No, we did everything right. We got in, got the goods and got out without being seen."

That got me raising an eyebrow in confusion, thinking about it for a second. "But that would mean either you just got unlucky…"

"Or we got ratted out." Tattletale finished the thought with a sigh, cradling the warm teacup between her thin hands.

I know I'm not super-wizard at reading other people but even I could read the emotions on the older girl's face. Maybe she was just tired and not controlling her emotions but the calm betrayal was easy to see. "You already know who did it."

She blinked at that before frowning slightly but nodded. "I can't talk about it other than to say it wasn't the others."

"How do you know that?" The surety in her voice was odd.

"I'm psychic." She responded with a smirk.

I quirked an eyebrow skeptically and punched a hole in her statement. "But you didn't know about Lung and the betrayal."

She frowned. "Fine, I'm a Thinker but you're not getting any details."

I smiled at getting one over on her but settled back down quickly. "So, now what?"

"That's up to you, actually." Tattletale responded with a smile that was just inside business-like instead of into predatory. "You more than earned a spot on the team if you want it." She took a sip of her tea. "Or you can leave on friendly terms with us."

"Just like that?" The skepticism is strong in this one.

"Just like that." Tattletale confirm before pushing over a paper bag. "Either way, this is your cut of the take. Considering everything you did, you've more than earned it."

I quirked an eyebrow and opened the bag. There were three banded bundle of twenty dollar bills inside, making my eyes shoot wide. "That's three thousand dollars!"

She smirked at my hissed exclamation, taking another sip of her cooling beverage. "Like I said, you earned it."

I forced my mouth closed and just looked at the girl before me. "You're a villain team."

Tattletale just smiled at my assertion and nodded. "Yes."

"And you know I'm a hero."

"Yes." She supplied with another nod, though without the smile this time. "But just think about it. There's always a spot open for you with us."

"Thanks, I guess." I supplied, pushing myself up to standing while tucking the moneybag into a coat pocket.

"One last thing," she said, placing a hand on the crimson sleeve of my left arm, "I put my number into your phone under 'TT'. Even if you don't join, that doesn't mean we can't work together."

I let out a breath. "I'll think about it."

She nodded and pulled her hand back.

I nodded in return and left the Undersider's… lair.

o0O0o

16 Apr – Early Morning

The walk home was interesting… and scary.

Walking past an apartment that was literally had half of it turned to clear glass was unsettling at best. Especially when you could see what used to be people going about their everyday lives now looking like creepy glass mannequins. That some of them were of children chilled my blood.

I witnessed a couple more bomb sites, one looking like a more 'normal' explosion while the other was just a mass of stained concrete. I didn't even realize I'd wandered into the second site until I realized all the vehicles crashed in the street. I found out later, to my horror, that everyone caught in the 'blast radius' just turned into blood, as in totally liquefied.

I felt bad that my neighborhood survived the bombing unscathed.

"Dad, I'm home." I called over when I saw him standing from the dinner table.

"Thank God you're safe!" He sounded so relieved, rushing over to gather me into a deep hug.

"I'm glad you're okay, too." I hugged him back.

After a minute, he softly separated and guided me to sit at the table. "So, what happened?" He asked, placing a mug of hot chocolate before me.

I told him.

By the end, he was pinching the bridge of his nose with is eyes shut. I could tell he was taking measured breaths and just let him be.

"Is this going to become a routine thing for you? For your hero activities?"

"I hope not." I really didn't. Sure, it was exciting being chased by Lung and felt good to save the Undersiders before I knew who they were but now I just felt shame. I mean, sure, it could have happened with or without me interfering but I'd been a part of it. "I didn't think this would happen."

"No one ever does." Dad stated, taking a pull of his coffee before waving it to me slightly. "Well, other than some Thinker Capes."

That ticked my interest. "Really? How do you know about that?"

He smirked at me. "Since I found out about your hero hobby, I've been researching what I can."

"Huh…" I didn't really know what to say to that, so I took another sip of chocolaty goodness. That's when my phone buzzed in my pocket. Looking at it, I saw Vikki had woken up and replied to my text.

"Anything important?"

I looked back towards Dad's wary visage and put the phone on the table. "It's just Vikki. I sent a message to let her know I'm okay and that was her reply."

"Well… you've given me some things to think about so why don't you go talk to her." Dad dismissed me with a smile, waving towards the stairs.

"Okay. Thanks, Dad." I stood up and moved towards them.

"Oh, and take a shower, too. You kind of need one."

"Dad!"

Apparently my embarrassment was prime amusement because his laughter followed me up the stairs, my boots stomping on each step.

Closing the door to my room, I looked in the mirror and winced. Yeah, my costume was dirty and wrinkled… I looked like a mess. Flipping out my knife, I stabbed myself to respawn in a fresh costume. I still wanted a shower though, but it could wait until I talked to Vikki.

Removing my costume, I slipped on a large night shirt, sat on my bed and dialed up my friend.

It was the second ring when Vikki picked up and I jerked the phone from my ear, "What the hell happened?!"

Frowning at the phone, I held it back to my face. "Hello to you, too, Vikki."

"Don't give me that, Taylor." Vikki sternly replied. "I've had to assist the recovery efforts, make sure my sister doesn't overwork herself and worry about whether my friend is okay or not! I think I deserve to be a little upset!"

I just sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't think it'd turn out like this but I'm fine. I just… passed out afterwards and needed to sleep it off."

"So, what? You were just laying in some alley or something?!" Vikki's voice rose again at that.

"What?! No!" I refuted in shock. "I slept in a bed. The people I saved from Lung took me back to their place to rest."

"You mean the Undersiders." Vikki's voice was acidic. I guess she knew about these guys where I didn't.

"Yeah… them." I confirmed with a breath, running a hand through my curly tangled hair. Ugh… brushing it out was going to be a chore. "Look, I didn't know who they were then but I'd still do it even if I did."

"What."

I rolled my eyes at the flat tone of her voice. "Look, I'm not in the PRT and I'm not in New Wave. I just have myself and anyone I can convince to help me. The way I figure it, if the Undersiders are targeting other Villains, especially the gangs, then I'll help them cause it hurts the gangs I was going after anyways. I'm 'not' joining them, though! I'm just not going to turn away any help I can get."

There was silence across the line and I had to check to make sure the connection hadn't dropped.

"You've really thought about this, haven't you?" Vikki's voice was more subdued and more thoughtful.

"It was a long walk home." I confirmed with a sigh. "Look, Tattletale offered me a spot on her team but I didn't accept. From the way she talked, she left it open to just work together sometimes, though. And if you really think about it, what's the difference between us taking down an ABB warehouse and pocketing some loot and the Undersiders doing the same?"

"That they're a villain team." Vikki replied after a moment.

I nodded, though my friend couldn't see it. "So, if they were heroes, we'd be exactly the same." I could feel the indignation coming through the phone. "Look, I'm just keeping my options open. Who knows… maybe I can reform them." I tried to inject some levity but it didn't take.

"Yeah, that'll happen." Vikki scoffed in disbelief.

I just sighed. "Is there anything else cause I really need a hot shower and something to eat." I'd already burned through those sandwiches and my stomach was complaining again.

"Just one last thing; 'VIKKI'. Really?" She spelled out the nickname I'd used.

"What?" I was confused.

"That's the first time I've seen someone spell it that way. I'm used to 'VICKY'." She spelled out an alternate spelling with a smug sound to her voice.

I just rolled my eyes. "Fine, whatever. I'll talk to you later, Vicky."

I swear she could hear the difference cause she laughed. "Later, Taylor!"

I just shook my head and prepared for my long hot shower.

o0O0o

16 Apr – Afternoon

For the third… or was it forth? Anyways, I'd told my view of the events way too many times today. This time, it was the official report to the PRT.

And by official, I mean myself sitting on one side of a large wooden desk while Armsmaster sat on the other.

"Then I was blasted back into the air. I'm guessing it was a force grenade or something but I don't know." I answered his question with a tired shrug. "I flew over Lung who was jumping down where I was and… I think I saw Miss Militia shooting Bakuda but it was too fast."

Armsmaster nodded, tapping on his holographic arm keyboard thingy and probably looking at a report in his visor. "That matches Miss Militia's report of events."

"What happened?" The armored tinker looked towards me silently so I elaborated. "I mean, I saw the explosions all over town before I passed out but what happened?"

Armsmaster stayed silent for a couple seconds before tapping on his keyboard some more. "There were fifty-two separate bombs that activated across Brockton Bay the same time Bakuda and Lung disappeared from the scene."

"What happened to them?"

"Unknown but it's assumed to be a means of escape." The man replied, his armor reflecting the florescent lights above with each movement. "Teleportation, dimensional transport… her exact means of escape is unknown."

"So, she triggered the bombs and escaped?" That bitch! All those lives lost because of her!

"Either that or a dead-man's switch that triggered in conjunction to her escape." Armsmaster added, typing into his arm once more. "Either way, a kill order has been placed on Bakuda."

I blinked at that. Kill orders were basically the PRT's way of telling all PRT and Independent heroes that the time to play nice with a specific villain was over. A hero could literally kill the villain and be rewarded for it instead of tried for murder.

There was a reason that the PRT used it so sparingly though, because it usually caused said villain to stop holding anything back as well. If people were out to kill you, why care about collateral damage?

Thinking back on the glassed kids, I couldn't really feel sorry for her, though.

"So, now what?"

"Rescue and recovery efforts are almost done. Reconstruction actions will begin shortly. PRT forces are being held on standby for when either the E88 or Merchants try to expand into ABB territory. The Wards are restricted to soft patrols in PRT controlled areas." Armsmaster categorically answered, as if reading from a list. Who knows… maybe he was.

All in all, my first interaction with my childhood hero was quickly veering off into awkwardness.

"I mean, do you need my help for anything?"

"No."

The flat response had me flinch. "Okay. Well, can I go visit the Wards then?"

"I have a few more questions." Of course he did. I nodded and he cleared his throat. "You said you passed out." After I nodded once more, he continued. "You were not found during a search of the area."

It wasn't really a question but I understood the implication. "The Undersiders took me back to their base and I woke up there."

"So you know where their base is located."

"Yes." I simply replied, leaving it at that.

"Will you disclose that location?"

"No, I won't."

This time, I didn't react to his frown.

"Why?"

"Because I won't betray their trust in me." I replied with a shake of my head. "I helped them out without knowing who they were and they took me somewhere safe to recover since they felt they owed me."

"You're telling the truth."

I frowned back at him. Why would I lie?

He let out a breath and stood up. "This interview is over. You are free to leave."

"Can I see the Wards?"

"Yes."

We stood like that for a few seconds before I finally left. It really sucked to really 'see' your heroes.

It was a couple floors down the elevator before I got to the Ward's Room. Keying the intercom, I waited for some response from inside.

"Yo, girl! How're things going?"

"Hey, Clock. Just got done with my report to Armsmaster and wanted to see you guys." I spoke back to the intercom.

"Sure, just give us a few, yeah?"

"No problem." I had no issue with them protecting their private identities, even though I knew who Gallant was thanks to Vicky.

A minute later, the light clicked green and the door lock released with a clunk.

"All hail ye vanquisher of dragons!"

"Shut up, Clock!" I cried back, blush hidden beneath my mask.

The time stopping hero just grinned, his lower face visible due to the generic upper face mask he was wearing today. The rest of his outfit screamed 'I'm at home and I'm not getting dressed', consisting of a lightweight shorts and tshirt combination.

"But it's really awesome!" Vista countered, hopping with energy. The space between me and the couch constricted and I stepped through the effects of her power to take a seat beside her. Vista was wearing her visor and a cute sky blue sun dress.

I glanced around before asking, "Where's everyone else?"

"Win's in the labs messing with his toys." Clock informed me with a shrug. "Been there since seeing the explosions."

Considering Kid Win was a tinker hero, I guess it triggered something in his brain. Tinkers were known to grind out a problem at the expense of everything else. When I was shown the labs by the boy hero weeks earlier, I'd seen the small bed and restroom installed in there just for this case.

"Gallant is with Glory Girl, checking on Panacea." Vista supplied, frowning cutely at her crush visiting his girlfriend.

"And Aegis is on patrol with Miss Militia."

"I thought the Wards were on standby." I questioned the boy sitting in the recliner, quirking an eyebrow.

"It's another PR patrol." Clock answered with a shrug, leaning the seat back to relax. "Everyone's on edge and Piggy thinks the public relations will help show a strong front."

Piggy… Director Piggot ran the Brockton Bay division of the PRT forces. I hadn't personally met her but from what I'd seen on the TV, both her last name and nickname fit her image.

"But I want to hear about you fighting Lung!" Vista visibly bounced with energy, fitting for her younger age.

And so I told my story yet again this day. Really, I should write up pamphlets and hand them out.

"That was so~ cool!" Vista cheered, raising her arms up in victory.

"Yeah, too bad about all the explosions and death and stuff at the end." Clock said, bringing the good mood crashing down to burn in a fiery wreck. He winced as he saw the younger girl's look of defeat. "Hey, I heard Respawn's been practicing for a rematch. Why not let her show her moves?"

Vista perked up slightly, looking towards me questioningly.

I just rolled my eyes and started unbuckling my boots as Vista smiled and started hooking up the dance pads.

o0O0o

17 Apr

Winslow was a mess but that wasn't because of any of Bakuda's bombs. Fresh graffiti covered the lockers and some of the exterior walls, a fresh bright mixture of E88 and ABB tags and 'murals'.

Then there were the students themselves.

The ABB aligned students, mainly those of Asian descent, made sure to travel in packs. They looked hounded and scared but hid it under aggressive looks and sneers. The fact that they were armed with hidden knives and clubs was unsaid.

When they had E88 aligned teens eyeing them from all sides, some blatantly showing off their weapons, I don't blame them.

Really, the school's atmosphere was just a reflection of Brockton Bay as a whole. Out in the streets, the ABB and E88 postured and maneuvered for advantage.

Lung and Bakuda had shown back up, which was the only reason the ABB hadn't imploded on itself. Where they'd gone and how didn't matter now. The damage of their absence had been done and they were on the defensive.

As for the E88, Kaiser was pumping out the anti-Asian rhetoric like it was going out of style on his pirate radio station. It didn't hurt that Bakuda had given the Neo-Nazis a blatantly obvious 'evil' to latch onto. Even still, the E88 had lost some capes in the bombing and that held them back from all out gang war; both Victor and Rune.

I'd never interacted with either, so their deaths didn't really have an impact on me other than knowledge that the E88 were weaker for it.

A scuffle down the hall broke me out of my thoughts, one of the E88 students tripping an ABB. A tense standoff started until Mr Jackson bellowed for them to clear the halls.

I guess that's a good example of the PRT in all this. Doesn't really do anything to either side but breaks up the hot spots. I was still pissed at the PRT, though.

Slamming my locker closed and locking it, I glared down the hall where the full Trio stood, rebuffing some E88 gangbangers. I hated the E88 for what they were doing for the city but seeing Sophia Hess back at fucking Winslow, my blood was boiling.

Eventually, the blonde student pushed Hess a little too hard, the… not hero but super powered girl easily manipulating him into an arm bar hold. When the other E88 aligned students started to press in on the black girl and the cowering Emma and Madison behind her, Sophia just lifted higher and a loud pop filled the hallway.

Then the boy's scream cut through the silence and teachers started converging.

Once Sophia had released the boy to the teachers, and I hated to admit this was actual self-defense, she glanced over in my direction before scowling. "What the fuck are you looking at, Hebert?!"

"You, bitch." I icily replied, grabbing hold the backpack straps on my shoulder in case I needed to shuck it quickly.

"Fuck off!"

"No, fuck you, Hess!" I growled back over the distance.

With the teachers so close by, neither of us wanted to start anything real so she turned back to the rest of the Trio and I headed out the school entrance.

I'd messaged Clockblocker at lunch about Hess being released. He gave basically apologized but Piggot wanted more heroes on the roster and decided to give Hess a third try. None of the Wards were happy but had to play along.

I'm so freaking glad I didn't join the Wards but I was still pissed at the PRT.

o0O0o

18 Apr – Early Morning

Brockton Bay was at War.

Just a few minutes after midnight, the E88 attacked the ABB in a preemptive strike. At least, that's how Kaiser said in the online statement. What that really means is that Kaiser had his skinheads and capes push into ABB territory and scaring out the non-white population. Said population moved farther into the remaining ABB territory.

Then, at around 3:35 AM, Bakuda set off more bombs, though these were limited to the area the E88 had taken over. The number of casualties were still unknown but the remaining E88 capes were still accounted for.

The PRT tried to drive a wedge between the warring factions but there was a lot of city and just not enough PRT troopers and capes to handle it. Listening to the news, the PRT wasn't using the Wards to stop the gang war due to public outcry if they did. That left them with less total capes to use and any unescorted troopers were pretty much cannon fodder if an ABB or E88 cape came across them.

I had slept through it all but once I woke up…

"What do you mean I can't go?!"

"Taylor, it's chaos out there!" Dad tried to reason with me, sitting down on the couch while I paced in irritation. "This is completely different than what you've been doing. What happens if you get caught up in one of those bombs? Could you survive that?"

"I don't know but I can't just sit around while they're tearing up the city!" I cried back, clenching my hands into fists.

"Taylor, please! I don't want to lose you because you're doing something stupid!" Dad pleaded for reason. "Your powers are great but you still have to stop and think! If you just rush in head first, you're going to find a situation where it can't save you!" He stood up and caught me in a hug. "I won't let you be your mother's daughter!"

That shook me more than his arms did. Mom died because she was careless while driving. She dropped her cellphone while talking with Dad. While reaching down for it, we got t-boned. A shard of metal from the driver's door cut into her side, bleeding her out. I was relatively safe on the passenger side but I still had to watch her die due to a stupid mistake.

"Damn you." I whispered, relaxing in his arms.

"I know but my only priority is keeping you safe." Dad replied, kissing me on the forehead. "I can't let you run out there all alone."

My mind latched onto that. "So if I wasn't alone, you wouldn't stop me?"

He hesitated, realizing he'd stepped on a live landmine. "I… wouldn't have as much worries if you weren't alone but I wouldn't be okay with it either."

"Would working with New Wave be fine, then?" I asked, looking into Dad's eyes.

He finally sighed and I knew I had him. "If you're working with New Wave…" He caught me before I could cheer. "But! But it can't just be Glory Girl!"

"What?"

"Don't what me, daughter of mine. I know you were planning on asking Glory Girl to help you out and claim 'you were working with New Wave'." He caught me with a look. "You have to have an adult with you and you have to follow their directions or no deal."

"Fine… deal!"

There was an open gang war in Brockton Bay. There was no way New Wave would not do anything!

o0O0o

18 Apr – Late Morning

"No."

I blinked at the sharp answer. "What do you mean 'No'?"

Brandish, a.k.a. Ms Dallon, leveled a stare at me, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean, 'No, New Wave isn't interfering.'"

I gapped like a fish for a moment, searching for words. "But why not?"

Off to the side, Vicky and Amy sat on the couch while their father stood near his wife with a worn look on his face. The girls were staring at me like I'd stated the Earth doesn't revolve around the Sun, instead the Sun revolved around me. It was a real confidence booster, let me tell you.

"I don't make a habit of explaining myself to young girls who think they are adults, let alone those that aren't my daughters." Brandish started up, her husband letting out a sigh beside her. "But since you are a friend to my daughters, I will explain this once and only once, understand?"

I think the question was rhetorical since she didn't let me answer.

"First, New Wave doesn't make it a habit of jumping between two villain forces without overwhelming force. In this case, Villain forces outnumber us, hence why we are not fighting."

"But the PRT is out there fighting both the E88 and ABB!"

"Second," Brandish pinned me with a glare for interfering, "the PRT has not requested New Wave's assistance. If and when they do, New Wave will decide as a family if we wish to assist."

I just glared back as the blonde woman paused, waiting to see if I'd speak again before she was finished.

"Finally, even if New Wave wishes to join the PRT in their efforts, it will be the adults, not our children, who fight!"

"But Mom!"

"Victoria! Be silent!" Carol Dallon snapped out, still not leaving my gaze.

As the silence rolled on, I finally spoke out. "I used to think New Wave was this shining beacon of hope for Brockton Bay but I see I was mistaken."

Brandish's glare hardened at the implied insult. "You also thought you were welcome here in this household but have worn that out." She pointed towards the door. "Leave."

"Fine. I'll do this without New Wave. I'll protect those who won't protect themselves." I smirked as I continued to look into her eyes.

I swear, if she had eye lasers, they'd have burned me to ash many times over. "Get. Out."

o0O0o

18 Apr – Afternoon

"You are certifiably insane, Taylor."

I looked at the message and rolled my eyes. Vicky wouldn't call me for fear of her mother finding out she was talking to me. Hence the text messages being sent back and forth.

"I just want to do something to stop the war! This is killing Brockton Bay!"

"I know but what can we do? We're just teenagers. Yeah, we have superpowers but so do they and they're trying to kill each other!"

I looked at the TV, where a news chopper was looking down at the highway heading out of town. It looked like people trying to evacuate a city about to be hit by a hurricane. It made me sick that two gangs could cause something like this and that the adults in charge had let it get to this point.

"I just feel so helpless."

"-sigh- I know how you feel, girl."

There was another break in messaging while the chopper showed an overhead view of Hookwolf bursting out of a building. The ABB goons scattered down the alleyways while the large metal wolf leapt away as Oni Lee started dropping grenades.

"Hey, I'm taking Amy to the hospital. I'll talk to you later."

"You both stay safe."

"Sure thing! You too!"

Setting the phone down beside me on the couch, I settled in to watch the ongoing news.

Dad had been called in by the other Dock Worker Union council members to discuss what was happening. Thankfully, they were having it at one of the union president's house away from the fighting. That meant Dad was safe but now I was stuck alone at our house.

At least it looked like the fighting was dying down right now. It seemed the gangs couldn't keep up a constant fight, just like a real war. It was really a conglomeration of all the little fights that added up to the total war. Still, it wasn't looking good with all the property damage and civilian injuries.

I guess that's why Vicky and Amy were headed to the hospital. Amy would be invaluable to keep the hospital from overflowing but I worried about her health, both mental and physical. It couldn't be good for Vicky to be stuck watching her sister like that either but I couldn't do anything about it.

Like I said to Vicky, I felt so helpless.

I startled as my phone started ringing. Picking it up, I saw the 'TT' caller ID.

"Hey." I answered.

"Hey, yourself." Tattletale's tired voice answered back.

I scrunched my brow. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I've just been busy. You know…" Yeah, busy with the gang war, like everyone else has been.

"Is that why you're calling?" I was interested if it was.

"Pretty much." She answered before letting out a tired sigh. "Look, this is a crazy situation so something crazy's about to happen."

"Okay…" That didn't sound good.

"Yeah. Long story short, the ABB and E88 making noise is bad for business." The fact that it was villain business was left unsaid. "So, we're having a meeting at Somer's Rock at seven o'clock."

I glanced at the clock and saw that it was around two and a half hours away. "So, why are you telling me? I'm a little out of your circle of friends, you know."

"That's the thing." I think I could hear her smile. "You've got a friend in me and are being invited as an ally of the Undersiders."

"Okay, thanks for that an all but a hero at a villain meeting? That just sounds like a bad time." I responded with skepticism.

"It's neutral ground. If someone attacks anyone else, everybody jumps the offending party." Tattletale explained. "If it makes you feel any better, this isn't just cause we're allies but the meeting need a way to get whatever we decide to do to the PRT. It's not like they'd just meet with one of us under a white flag without trying to arrest us."

"But because I'm independent, I can do whatever the hell I want."

"Bingo! Smart girl gets a cookie!"

I grinned a little at the slight loopy sound in her voice. "I'll hold you to that but, seriously, are you okay?"

Tattletale took a breath and released it slowly. "Yeah, just been using my power all day so I'm suffering for it. I should be fine for the meeting and talking to you helps some."

"Really? Why's that?"

"That… is a secret!" She broke down into giggles before calming a moment later. "Sorry, sorry. So, are you coming?"

I mulled it over in my head. They couldn't really kill me. If anyone did try to kill me, the others would attack them or lose face. I'd be welcomed as an ally of the Undersiders instead of just being a random hero.

The real kicker though was that this could be a way to stop this gang war.

"Sure, I'll be there."

"Great!" She hissed a moment later before hissing to herself. "Not so loud, idiot… Okay, so we're going to show a little early, maybe six forty-five."

"Six forty-five at Somer's Rock. I'll be there."

"See you then."

The connection clicked dead and I pulled up the map app to figure out where the meeting place was. I grimaced. It'd take me way too long to walk and I didn't want to ride my bike in full costume.

Glancing over at the driver's training book, I made a mental note to finish the damn thing once this was all over.

Guess I had to call a cab or something…

o0O0o

18 Apr – Evening

Somer's Rock was a dive bar… and not the good kind of dive bar. At least, that's what I'd think if I was looking for a bar to hang out in.

The exterior looked old and worn, the bars over the windows rusting while the dirty grey-white paint peeled from the cinderblock walls. Above the entrance, an old neon sign proudly declared the business's name 'Sme's ock' in flickering lights.

Really, the pinnacle of alcohol serving establishments.

"Good, you're here." A male's voice spoke out into the dark evening air. It wasn't completely night anymore, spring coming in to lengthen the daylight, but it was close enough.

I glanced to my right, further into the alley I was perched in, to see Grue and Tattletale walking towards me. Tattletale looked disdainfully at the piled trash she had to skirt but smiled when she looked back me. "Hey."

"Alright. Just follow our leads and everything will be fine. Just remember, talk all you want but no actual fighting." Tattletale briefed me.

"Got it. Anything else?"

"The one organizing this is called Coil. Don't deal with him outside of this if you can help it." She warned me with a serious gaze. I quirked an eyebrow but she continued on. "I know that Faultline's Crew, Uber and Leet, the Travelers and the Merchants were invited. Anyone extra…"

I nodded at that. Not like I had a say in it, really. "Should we head inside?"

"Yes, we should." Grue agreed, moving past and into the street. Tattletale and I fell in behind him as we entered Somer's Rock.

If the outside looked like a dive bar, the inside was just reinforcing the image. It smelled like stale beer and cigarette smoke. Even though no other patrons were present, there was still a light haze in the air, as if the smoke trapped in the carpet was slowly escaping.

Grue sat at table and crossed his arms over his chest, playing up his scary appearance. Tattletale sat at another chair, next to one end of the long rectangular table. She smiled and patted the empty chair between them.

Okay, so a visible show of being both their ally and under their protection. I can get behind that.

It wasn't too much longer that others started showing up.

The first group was led by a woman who looked like someone saw what a samurai looked like and then welded up some imitation armor from a scrap heap. Still, the tight bun of black hair on her head and polished metal welding mask showed she meant business. This was Faultline and anyone in Brockton Bay would know immediately.

Beside her was a very… orange looking teenage boy. He was smiling widely with arms crossed behind his head. His face was relatively handsome but the gangly limbs and tail were weird. I didn't know who this was, unfortunately.

The pair sat at the end to my left, Faultline on the short end and the orange boy to her right, sitting next to Grue.

The next to enter were the Travelers, two of them at least.

The first was a young man wearing a tuxedo of sorts, black with orange lining, along with a top hat. His face was covered in a theater mask of sorts, one half white and the other orange but holding a big grin. If I remember right, this was Trickster, leader of the Travelers.

He sat opposite Tattletale, leaving the head of the table empty.

The woman in the black full bodysuit with red suns all over was obviously Sundancer. Her power allowed her to create a miniature sun anywhere she concentrated and then control it's movement. She sat across from me.

Seven o'clock, right on the dot, a single man walked through the front door.

I think he was anorexic or something, because I swear I could see his ribs poking out under his black spandex suit. The only identifier, other than his unhealthy thinness, was the white snake he had coiling around his costume, ending with its head on his forehead pointing towards his nose.

This had to be Coil and he sat at the head of the table, between Tattletale and Trickster.

"Thank you for attending this meeting, though I see we have missing invitees and an unexpected attendee." Coil's smooth voice intoned, gesturing towards the empty chairs and then to myself.

"I was wondering why a hero would be at a villain meeting." Trickster mused, tapping the chin of his mask with a white gloved hand.

"She's a guest of the Undersiders." Grue growled out, brooking no argument.

"I do not have a problem with this." Faultline stated, nodding towards me. Her companion was eyeing me with a leer though.

"If there are no objections, we shall continue." Coil pushed the issue and then continued. "We are here because the ABB and E88's aggressions are making things difficult in Brockton Bay."

"With what you have paid, you have our services for one week." Faultline flatly informed the snake imaged man.

"Oh, now isn't that interesting." Trickster mused, folding his hands on the table. "Have you wrapped the Undersiders inside your coils as well?"

I blinked at that, looking between the three villain group leaders and the calm looking man to my right. I felt Tattletale pat my knee in assurance. What she was assuring me for, I didn't know yet but I was starting to get a bad feeling.

Coil just hummed lightly. "I had wished that more would show but the ruse is not needed any more. That makes thing both easier and more difficult."

"Look, boss. What do you want us to do?" Tattletale calmly poked the man verbally.

"I wish for both the ABB and E88 to stop their squabbles so we may return to profitability. To do so, I will be sending each of you instructions on tasks that need completed."

"Just remember that we don't do wetworks, boss." Tattletale reminded the man, who nodded.

"I have not forgotten our agreement, just do not forget yours." Coil calmly replied with mild rebuke.

"We won't." Grue stated.

"Now, if you would, my dear?" Coil waved a hand towards Tattletale.

"Right, boss." The purple clad girl pulled out a map of Brockton Bay from her belt. Unfolding it on the table, I saw the marks she'd put on it detailing the ABB and E88 boundaries. "This is up to day as of two hours ago. Basically, this is our battlespace and those two are our targets."

"Obviously." Trickster added, as Tattletale's statement was rather obvious but maybe she was going somewhere with it.

"Pretty much, which is why we're going to do the sneaky thing and hit them behind the lines." She smirked, tapping the map deep inside both gang's territory.

"So, what, you're going to take out Lung and Kaiser?" I wondered, before realising I'd spoken.

"Not quite, but that is an option." Tattletale calmly corrected me. "Instead we're going after the other capes. If we reduce how many capes are in the war, there is no war."

"But the ABB have, like, only three capes and Lung's one of 'em. So, what about that?" The orange skinned boy asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"The only real target in the ABB is Bakuda." Coil stated, flipping out a photo of the gas mask wearing young woman. "Without her explosives, the ABB's offensive power is drastically reduced."

"So that's why we'll be focusing mainly on the E88." Tattletale stated, gesturing towards Faultline.

"And what about our little heroine here? Hmm?" Trickster leaned in towards me, elbows on the table and chin resting on entwined fingers.

I swallowed, looking around at all the villains arrayed before me before feeling Tattletale pat my leg again. "I'm in with the Undersiders. I'm not going to kill anyone but I'm all for taking the ABB and E88 down a peg or two."

"Then I shall coordinate the different teams accordingly and provide suggestions on how to accomplish your objectives but the final decision is up to you." Coil declared, flipping out two more photographs. He slid Bakuda's towards Trickster. The one containing Hookwolf he slid towards Faultline.

The final one, contained a young woman in a red bodysuit, the hint of an eyepatch peeking through her sandy blond curls. I dredged up my knowledge of E88 capes and finally identified her as Othala. She had the power to imbue other people with temporary powers, her most useful one being fast regeneration. Apparently, it was almost like Panacea's regeneration but uncontrolled, more a set and forget power.

"These are your first targets and ones that will vastly reduce their ability to continue hostility." Coil directed the three villain teams… and me, I guess. Actually, he then turned to look directly at me next. "As for you, my dear, I request that you inform the heroes of our intentions. It wouldn't do to have them interfere with our plans."

"Uh… yeah, sure." I hesitantly replied. Something about him just gave me the creeps.

"Oh, and also inform them that we are ceasing all acts of villainy until this problem is resolved as a show of good faith. A pseudo Endbringer truce, if you will." He added as an afterthought before standing slowly from his chair. "With that, I wish you happy hunting. I expect positive results."

With that, the meeting came to a close.

o0O0o

End of Chapter 6

o0O0o

A/N -

I'm really finding the PHO sections annoying due to formatting issues with FFnet. Sucks that I like adding them due to doing something 'different' and I can condense information in them.

For those of you wanting a Hero Taylor, she's staying a hero in this fic. I just didn't want to say anything until after this point. The thing is, she's an independant hero, which lets her do things PRT heroes can't, like sometimes work with villains.


	7. Chapter 7

Keep Calm and Respawn

A Worm Fanfiction

By: Konsaki

19 Apr - Morning

I woke up shivering in a comforter cocoon.

I pitiful keen escaped me as I cracked my eyes open to find a completely dark room. Glancing at the alarm clock to try and figure out what time it was, I saw it completely blank.

Great, the power's out.

That means the heater's dead too.

"F-fuck." I finally got tired of shivering in my Taylor burrito and braved the elements. The sweat shirt and pants I pulled on just sapped the little warmth from my body as I prepared to brave the world.

Letting out a yawn as I checked my cell, I found out it was at least around five in the morning. Not the worst time to wake up but seven would have been better.

Moving into Dad's room, I found him softly snoring away in his own bundle of blankets. He woke with a snort after I gently shook his shoulder. "Dad, the power's out."

He blinked in the darkness, running a hand over his face. "Shit… Ung… Give me a minute and I'll be downstairs."

"I'll start pulling the heaters out." I told him as I left to head downstairs myself.

Living in the northeast meant having small kerosene heaters was a must for survival. You never knew when a blizzard was going to roll through town and cut your power for days on end.

Spreading out the newspaper onto the table, I lifted the heaters and kerosene can up. Actually, one of the heaters felt full enough, so I moved it onto the coffee table before the couch. I had just finished priming it and getting it lit when Dad trundled down the stairs.

"Good." He nodded towards my efforts as he lit a kerosene lamp on the kitchen counter. "I'll start filling the rest."

I smiled at him but stayed beside the lit heater, warming my hands. A moment later, I pulled out my phone and pulled up PHO. A quick scan through and I put it away in disgust. "Looks like we have Bakuda and the ABB to thank for this."

"Fucking Capes."

Even though he muttered it under his breath, I still clearly heard his words and the emotion underneath. Logically, I knew he wasn't talking about me specifically, but I also knew I fell into the category of 'Cape' now. I felt a little conflicted, since I agreed with him but also wanted to say 'not all Capes' at the same time.

Dad finished up and left a lit heater on the table, moving to fill a kettle and light the stove. I guess now that there was nothing to do but wait for the house and kettle to heat up, he couldn't help but think about the day's plans.

"I wish you'd just stay home." He said with a sigh, massaging his tired eyes. "Why can't you just leave this to the PRT?"

"You know why, Dad." I responded, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. "We already went through this last night."

The late night 'discussion' of me going after Othala was not an easy one. Especially with how I had to tiptoe around the fact that I was working with villains.

"I know. It's just… you're my baby girl." He tried to explain, emotions working over his face. "I can't help but worry when you're basically running into a warzone with superpowered maniacs."

I just sat there, enjoying the heat for a few moments, before I sighed. "Dad… I just can't sit back and do nothing." I looked over towards him. "I can't help but think about all the people who were hurt or killed by this. By both Bakuda's bombs and those Neo-Nazi asshats. They need to be stopped and I can help."

After seeing Dad just standing there in silent contemplation, I stood up and moved before him. "Look, I'm not trying to take on Kaiser or Lung by myself." Glossing over the fact that my fight with the latter had helped cause this mess. "I'm working with a team of Capes now. Heck, none of us are going after those two, we're trying to arrest the other Capes in the gangs to cut back on the firepower they have."

"I know, I know." He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair before scratching his head in thought. "It sounds good, in theory I guess, but things can go wrong and I worry."

"Dad, the leader of the team I'm on already said we're just getting in, capturing Othala and get out. We're not running in like Rambo."

He chuckled at the comparison, reaching over to rub my hair, to which I swatted at. "Rambo was a guerrilla fighter, Taylor."

I could feel my cheeks heat a little. "You know what I mean, Dad!"

"Yeah, I do and it does help a little knowing you're trying to avoid a brawl with the E88 but I'm your father, I'm allowed to worry." He stated again for the upteenth time since I came back yesterday as he wrapped me in yet another hug.

I could only let out a sigh of exasperation. Before I had my powers, Dad was still fatherly but it seemed standoffish. Now, he was constantly asking how things were, like a mother hen or something.

I was a little split on how much I liked it or not.

oO0Oo

19 Apr - Late Afternoon

I stepped into the warehouse door to find a giant dog growling in my face and froze.

And when I say 'giant' I mean the size of a big rig.

After the initial shock wore off, I cocked my head at the monstrous beast. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be." A deeper female's voice warned, the speaker moving around the still growling beast to cross her arms over her chest. The ugly, snarling dog mask easily identified her as 'Bitch' or 'Hellhound', depending on who you were talking to. She was a Master type Cape, who empowered dogs like this guy here.

"Why?" I questioned, gesturing towards the monstrified dog. "All he can do is kill me."

"Bitch! Back down, now!" Grue commanded, walking up from deeper in the warehouse. "We've got a job to do and she's part of it."

Bitch looked from me to her team leader and back. With a snort, she wandered off, her beast following along before shrinking down to a normal sized doberman.

"Come on, let's get this over with." The black leather costumed villain directed, moving back where he came. Really, Grue looked like more like a biker than a villain, if you ignored the helmet shaped like Sauron's skull helm with shadows writhing off it like flames.

As I followed, I wondered if I was going to get an apology before remembering this was a Villain team and I was technically their enemy by being a Hero. It was a little sobering to be reminded that these people weren't my friends, even with what we were planning on doing later today.

Grue took a spot at a table with the city map spread on it, sticky notes and marker lines all over it. The blonde Tattletale was leaning over it, circling a new spot while glancing towards her phone. In another seat, a young man in a white coiffed shirt and a white mask and golden crown sat, idly twirling a scepter in his hands.

Once Regent caught sight of me, he stopped messing with his 'weapon' and grinned at me. "Oh, look. Our very own Hero to save us in our hour of darkness."

The sarcasm was so thick I could have cut it with my knife, but before I could say anything Tattletale's head shot up. I blinked as she smiled at me, an actual smile. "Hey, girlfriend! Glad you could make it!"

Okay, what was up with the 'girlfriend' thing?

"Ah… yeah. Sorry I'm late."

The blonde teen just waved it off, straightening up and placing a hand to her hip. "Don't worry about it. We wouldn't start until nightfall anyways. Kinda hard to sneak in with Bitch's dogs all beast mode, you know?"

"I guess?" I still didn't know where I stood with this girl. Was she still trying to recruit me onto her team? Was she trying to manipulate me like the Bitch Trio did sometimes? Was she actually trying to be friends?

It was confusing, to say the least.

"Anyways, we've got most of the plan down already." The villainess indicated to the map she was working on, with most of the marks and notes centered around the E88 territory of Brockton Bay. "What I'm still working on is narrowing down the locations we need to check."

I finally spent some time to examine the map, ignoring the fact that everything was upside down from my orientation. It looked like there were around a dozen circled buildings, with even more that were circled but crossed off.

"So, we've got to check all these places?" I asked, tapping the circle closest to me.

Regent just laughed at me while Tattletale shook her head. "No, that's what I've been working on narrowing down. Really, I think these are the most likely places but we're not going to move without more accurate information."

"This is different from our normal heists." Grue commented, leaning forward to put his hands on the table. "We're looking for a person who the E88 are moving around both to keep her safe and also to make it easier to use her powers."

"But once we find her, snagging her will be a piece of cake!" Regent stated, slapping the head of his scepter into a hand. "It's not like she can use her powers on herself!"

"I doubt she's going to be alone." I said, reviewing what I knew of Othala in my head. The E88 Cape basically could give minor powers to other people, though only to one person at a time. With the gang war going on, I'd assume she was mainly giving the E88 goons her healing powers to get them back on their feet quicker.

"And that's why I'm doing my research." Tattletale commented, crossing out another spot but putting a question mark at another one.

"So, what's the plan? We all sneak around until we find her? You guys sneak around while I'm a distraction? You guys playing distraction?"

Tattletale set down the phone and marker before glancing towards the silent Grue. After a moment, she shook her head. "Well, as of right now, the plan is once we move out it'll be in two groups… Us and You."

Basically, they wanted me to do my own thing while they did theirs. On one hand it kind of defeated the point of teaming up, treating it more like two teams working in tandem. On the other, it made some sense, what with me being able to survive Lung while they needed to fight as a team.

At the very least, the Undersiders needed Bitch for fast movement, her monster dogs being even faster than me using charges to power jump.

"Okay, then, but what about actually capturing Othala? It's not like I can escape with her easily if I find her." I pointed out, already accepting the two team aspect of the plan.

"If either of us find her, we contact the other." Tattletale stated, reaching into a small backpack on the table to place an earpiece and a handgun with holster on the table. "This is so you can contact us during the run."

"And the gun?" I quirked an eyebrow, looking from the revolver to the villainess. It had a matte black finish and black rubber grip, along with a decent sized barrel. That's about all I could tell about it, considering all my gun knowledge was from television and movies. If I had to compare it, it was smaller than Dirty Harry's gun but bigger than those stubby revolvers that barely had any barrel.

"Just an idea I had, thinking about what I've seen of your powers." Tattletale stated, gesturing towards me. "When Lung tore you to shreds, you popped back up like nothing had happened. Not even a scorch mark or smudge on your coat to show for it."

"Yeah… and?" Wondering where she was going with this.

She pushed the holstered revolver towards me. "Just put this on and then… shoot yourself."

Okay, I was curious where this was going, so strapped the holster to my side and checked how secure it was. Deciding it was good enough, I drew the revolver and placed the barrel against my head.

One pull of the trigger and I had a charge ready to use.

"Can I see it now?" Tattletale asked, holding a hand out. When I looked confused she rolled her eyes. "I meant the gun."

With a shrug, handed it over to the purple catsuit wearing villainess. "You going to tell me why I did that?"

Instead of answering, the blonde girl slid out the chamber and ejected the six bullets onto the table, the brass clinking against the wood. Grabbing each one, she ordered them in a line before her. I really didn't get the point, since it was just a bullets to me.

It must have meant something though, what with how Grue and Regent leaned forward to get a better look. Regent laughed a moment later, shaking his head. "Of course… like a fucking video game."

"Yeah, it is." Tattletale shook her head in disbelief.

"What is?" That got the blonde to look back at me before tossing a bullet to me. I almost fumbled it but held it in my hands, the shiny brass contrasting against my glove. "So? It's a bullet."

"That's the one you just fired." Tattletale told me, making me look at the brass in my hand again.

"Wait… so I just… reset it or something?" I held the round up to my face, similar to how Tattletale had earlier.

"That's what it looks like." The blonde replied with a shrug. "It's just an idea I wanted to test but it's got me wondering what else your powers might do."

"We can worry about that later." Grue cut in, reaching forward to tap the map. "Let's worry about capturing Othala."

"Right." Tattletale agreed, accepting the mild chastisement with a nod. She handed the bullets and revolver back to me, I guess expecting me to reload it myself. "Anyways, back to the plan. The Undersiders aren't a knock down brawlfest team. We're a 'get in, steal shit and get out' team."

"So, what? I make some noise and play decoy for you guys to capture her?"

"It's not a bad idea, ya'know." Regent commented, slowly spinning the scepter in his hands. "It's not like any of us want to tangle with Hookwolf and friends."

"It's an option but even if she's taking the heat, it'll set everyone else on edge, making it harder for us to get Othala." Grue countered, crossing his arms.

"That's my thoughts as well." The purple clad villainess agreed with a nod. "We need to find her first and that's hard to do with everyone shooting at shadows."

"So, what are we doing then?"

"We wait for Tattletale to find out Othala's general location, then we head over to capture her. Once we know exactly where she's is, we'll decide how we're going to handle things." Grue answered me, reaching forward to tap the map.

I looked at the map again, seeing the many circled points not crossed off. "How long until we find out where she is?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Tattletale replied with a shrug.

"What."

She huffed at me. "Look, I'm trying to find a single woman, Cape or no Cape, who could be anywhere in this area. Add in the fact that she's moving around and you basically have to reset the board every so often." She ran her finger around the E88 territory.

Okay, that made sense and made me feel a little foolish. "Okay, can I help somehow?"

"Not really. I'm kind of relying on my powers to figure this all out, along with a few connections keeping their eyes and ears open." She held up her phone, the PHO forum showing on the screen. "Besides, you'll be surprised how many people in this city report Cape sightings just because. Othala moving around actually helps us somewhat."

"So you're hoping that someone will see Othala and then post it immediately." I sounded a little sceptical.

Instead of answering me, she tapped a bit on the phone before handing it over to me. I looked at the screen and then had to blink. "'Just saw Respawn heading up 23rd street.' What?"

"Based off when you got here, that had a two to three minute lag time from when you were seen."

"That's crazy!" I gestured to the phone before handing it back.

"Why do you think we work at night?" The blond pretty-boy asked with a laugh. "It's not just cause we're thieves."

"He's not wrong but back to Othala. This was really just to let you know what we've got and answer any questions. Other than that… basically, I'll call you once I have something."

"Well… that's a letdown." I let out a sigh. "I was ready to head out and capture her."

Grue snorted beneath his skull paint biker helmet, crossing his arms. "At least you're eager."

Feeling my cheeks heat up I reached down to start unstrapping the revolver only to stop at Tattletale's objection. "Keep it. It's clean and a useful tool."

Something about the tone of her voice had me feel like I could trust her. "Okay, fine." I still planned on taking it to the PRT to have it checked out and make sure it was legal.

oO0Oo

22 Apr - Early Evening

"Come on, Yoshi! We've got this!" I cried out, jerking the controller to the side as the green dino jumped up to a higher platform platform.

"No one can escape the justice of the 'Falcon Punch'!" Clockblocker declared across the couch as the part-time FZero racer, part-time hero chased after me.

Both of us paused as the sound of a pokeball opening played before continuing on without a care. "What?! Magicarp?! Come on!" Vista cried out in dismay before having her yellow rat pick up a laser blaster and shooting across the map at us.

"You all are getting way too into this." Glory Girl just shook her head as she sat between Vista and me.

"Get better, noob!" Clock declared as he finally caught up with me. "No!"

"Yes!" I cheered, the Ward falling into my trap, his character now trapped in a giant green egg. Before I could capitalise on the move, a bomb flew in and exploded, flinging both our characters out of the screen. "No!"

"Yes! I win!" The young girl cheered, jumping off the couch to actually do a victory dance. "Who's the Queen of Smash?! This girl!"

Clock and I just looked at the screen in shock while Vicky burst out laughing, holding out a high five for the younger heroine who happily returned it. It was once Vista continued her little victory dance that Clock and I looked to each other.

"Truce to dethrone the 'Queen'?"

"Truce." I agreed to Clock's proposal with a handshake.

"What?!" Vista spun out of her dance to gape at us. "No fair teaming up against me!"

"You mean like teaming up with GG to take me down earlier?" Clock inquired, the wide grin audible in his voice.

"No! That was completely different!" The green clad girl declared, jabbing a finger towards the older boy. "It was a coincidence!"

"Oh, so you both just so happened to conveniently chase only me and ignore Respawn until I died?" Clock obviously didn't believe the girl.

"Yeah! You tell him, Glory Girl!" Vista looked to the older blonde for support.

Glory Girl tried to contain her giggles, waving a hand before her. "Totally innocent."

Before it could go any farther, 'Barbie Girl' started belting out of my pants.

"Really?" Glory Girl quirked an eyebrow, giving me an unsure look as I pulled out my phone.

Verifying the main screen, even as 'Barbie' continued talking about herself, I grinned. "It's Tattletale." I pressed a couple of buttons, silencing the 90's song, while I waved for the other three to be quiet. "Hey! Please tell me you've got something!"

"We've got a lead!" Tattletale confirmed over the speaker. "You ready to go, girlfriend?"

When GG mouthed 'girlfriend' with a confused look on her face, I gestured that I'd explain it later.

"Been ready." I grinned beneath my mask as I stood up from the couch, patting my pockets. That reminded me, I needed to get my weapons back from the security desk.

"Great! Where are you right now?"

"At the PRT tower hanging with the Wards. Where do I need to meet up with you guys?"

There was silence for a few moments before she finally replied. "I'll send you a text with the address. Get there as soon as you can."

"Got it." I killed the call and started towards the exit to the Ward Room.

"What was that 'girlfriend' thing?" The blonde 'Alexandria' heroine asked, slowly flying beside me.

All I could do was shrug. "No idea. Not really the important thing right now. I'll see you guys later!" I waved goodbye to the two Wards as GG and I headed out.

"Have fun storming the castle!" Clock yelled back along with Vista's call of good luck.

As I pressed the down button for the elevator, Glory Girl floated looking at me with her arms crossed. "You ready for this?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready." I gave my friend a nod, pounding a fist into my palm.

"No, I mean are you really ready for this?" She touched down to stand with her hands on my shoulders. "You're about to piss off the E88, like really piss them off."

"I kind of expected that, I mean, I'm about to arrest Othala. I'd be shocked if that 'didn't' piss them off."

"They could go after your dad."

A chill shot up my spine with those words, forcing me to lock onto her crystal blue eyes. The elevator dinged and opened but it was ignored, thoughts of the E88 attacking my house or the offices Dad worked in for the Dockers Union. It was a chilling thought but one I'd thought about before.

"It won't happen. They won't go after my dad." I declared with a shake of my head, turning to press the elevator button again. "It'd go against the 'unwritten rules'."

Noticing that the doors didn't immediately open, Glory Girl took the chance to speak again. "Tay-Respawn, the 'rules' didn't stop my uncle and his fiancee getting murdered when I was a kid!" A hand grabbed my shoulder to turn me back to face her. "Look, I'm not telling you to not do this, okay? I'm just saying be careful, with the E88 'and' with the Undersiders."

"I don't think the Undersiders are going to do anything. I saved them from Lung." I pointed out to my friend… my best friend.

"Yeah but what about that Coil guy who's paying them or whatever?" The blonde countered before wrapping me up in a hug. "Look, I just want you to be careful, okay?" Stepping back, she lightly slapped my shoulder. "If you need help, call me. Making sure a friend is okay is worth being yelled at by Mom."

I couldn't help but feel choked up. If only I had a friend like her after Mom died… After Emma… Victoria was different, though. She really meant it. If I needed help, she'd come flying to help, no matter the reason.

Wiping my eyes, I steeled myself as the elevator doors opened once more. "I'll give you a call later, whether I need help or not."

"I'll be waiting, so go kick some Nazi ass!" The blonde pushed me into the elevator with a wide smile, throwing a hand up for a high five.

"Damn right I will!" I declared, slapping her hand before the doors closed and the big box of steel and wire descended.

oO0Oo

22 Apr - Early Night

"I reached the meetup point, where are you guys?" I asked into the communicator as a reached the indicated rooftop. It was a dark night, clouds filling the sky with rumbles of thunder echoing off from the bay.

As always, the weatherman had predicted only a ten percent chance of rain but mother nature wanted to prove him wrong.

"Slight change in plans." Tattletale's voice came through the earpiece, voice apologetic but harried. "Someone saw Othala being escorted by some goons north of there. Based off that, there's two places she could be."

"So I'm checking one and you're getting the other." I reasoned.

"Got it in one." She confirmed before my phone buzzed in my pocket. "I just sent you the address for yours. It's around ten blocks north-northwest from where you are."

"So, what do I do if I find her?" I asked as I pulled up the map app on my phone, the GPS was turned off so I had to manually find where I was.

"Contact us and we'll meet up with you." Tattletale stated as I planned my route in the app. "If she's where we're at, we'll let you know."

"Got it." I nodded out of habit, even though she couldn't see me, closing the app and stowing my phone.

"Just keep things quiet for now. Once we go loud, we can't go back." She cautioned, grunting slightly as if Bitch's dog was a rough ride.

"Hey, I know how to keep things quiet. I'm not out there fighting Lung every night." I defended myself. Not every patrol I did ended in gunfire and screaming.

"Yeah, we'd like to avoid a repeat of that, thank you very much." Tattletale flatly stated before returning to her cheery tone. "Well, good luck, girlfriend!"

"You too. I'm headed in." I replied, ending the call with a press of a button.

Of course, that's when the rain started up.

It wasn't heavy rain but just one of those soft showers that threatened to grow into a heavy storm that happened around this time of year. Luckily, my coat was amazing and all I had to do was close it to stay warm and dry.

Then I made my first leap to the next roof and found out my legs were exposed to the rain.

Whatever… My boots are still dry and if I get there fast enough, it won't be too bad.

With that in mind, I continued running across the gravel roof before leaping across the street. I slid a little on the metal on the other side, the water making it slick, but found my footing quickly and continued on.

Things were starting out pretty smoothly, only having to work around a E88 goon playing sentry in a jury rigged watchpost. A quick hop down to the street level and a run through the alleys got me around that, before jumping back to the rooftops. A couple more roof jumps and I was only one building away from my destination.

Then the sky really opened up, lightning cracking the sky as a wall of falling water rolled into the city.

I made the final leap, jumping into the rainwall with my arms blocking my face. Yeah, my hood was great but I didn't want to be blinded by the water kicked up by my landing. Dropping my arms, I looked around the inconspicuous warehouse roof.

The rooftop was softly illuminated by the glow coming through the tent style skylight, letting me see that I was alone up here.

That was fine by me.

Reaching up, I pressed the button on the communicator in my ear. "Hey, I made it. I'm starting to check it out."

"Understood." Grue's voice responded.

Tattletale cut in next. "We're going the long way around. Too many lookouts."

"Be careful." I transmitted, not really sure what else to say.

"You too." The young villainess replied before closing the connection.

Looking around once more, I located a roof access hatch but didn't move towards it. Instead, I carefully moved closer to the skylight. I figured it'd be better to look inside to see what or who was actually in there.

Getting closer, I could see lights on inside but with the rain hitting the glass and causing waves to run down it, I couldn't make anything out.

Even wiping my hand over the skylight failed to clear much up, only giving me glimpses of a table and people around it down below.

"This is stupid." I complained, wiping my hand over the glass once more to little effect. I glanced back towards the hatch but didn't feel comfortable with using it yet. With that, I stepped forward to lean against the glass, using my arms as dams and my body as a wall to block the rain. It wasn't it perfect but as the seconds passed, the view cleared up, showing the table set up for a dinner or something.

As the figures seated below started clearing up, I edged my face closer to the glass, letting my hood block more rain from getting through.

Then there was an ominous click.

Before I could react, the pane of glass swung inward, leaving me trying to lean against open air. Needless to say, it didn't work out too well and I fell in to slam down onto the table, sending food and drink everywhere.

Screaming may or may not have been involved.

Resetting, I found myself crouched on the table looking down the long length at a person I really didn't want to see.

Sitting on a throne-like chair, wearing a polished suit of full-plate armor and helmet with a crown of spikes, was Kaiser, calmly looking back at me.

Alabaster and Hookwolf sat to his left and right, the albino man looking nonplussed while the savage man across from him snarled. Surrounding us all were armed goons, like a Nazi honor guard or something.

Everyone seemed fit to just stay still for the moment that stretched to eternity.

Then the panel of glass broke free and shattered into the table. Hookwolf shot out of his chair, throwing it back to the floor even as I stood and drew my revolver.

It all stopped when I held the gun to my head. "Nobody move or the Jew gets it!"

The pause held for a long moment but I'm pretty sure it was because Alabaster burst out laughing, not my threat.

Then Kaiser waved a hand and a metal spike rammed up my spine.

Respawning behind the spike, I looked around it. "That's just rude!"

"Kill her and make sure she stays dead!" The imperious voice called out, leading to a symphony of weapons being readied all around us.

Well… so much for stealth.

Pointing the revolver at the leader of the E88, I pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into a steel wall that shot out from the floor a foot from the armored man.

That started a hail of gunfire to slam through my body, shunting me a few feet to the right in a fresh respawn.

Instead of duking it out with the entire E88, I coiled my legs and leaped back through the skylight I just fell through, obliterating the table below me and smashing through a another pane of glass. I had a moment of weightlessness to realise I overshot and fell over the edge into the alley below.

Pain flashed with broken legs before my boots started pounding through the puddles that filled the alley.

Somewhere behind me, Hookwolf burst through a wall, a cacophony of scraping metal and stone filling the air.

Leaping back up to the rooftops, I found out the E88 had more people on top of the buildings this time.

"There she is! Get her!"

Gunfire ripped through the air as the goons started firing pistols and rifles in my general direction. Most of it missed by a wide margin but I still had to reset twice as bullets tore through my flesh.

"What happened?!" Grue's unamused voice barked out in my ear.

I would of tripped, had I not been mid jump at the time. Instead, I just landed in a run, reaching up to activate my earpiece. "I kind of fell into Kaiser's lap."

I was kind of surprised that shocked silence could actually be transmitted over the line.

"Please tell me you're joking." Tattletale pleaded, even as I heard echoes of the goons shooting at me coming over the earpiece.

"Only a little." I said, taking a moment to kick closed the roof door that was opening ahead of me. Considering the gunfire I heard inside, I'd just pissed off some more goons. "Anyways, I'm a little busy now!"

"Fine… Keep them busy and keep them away from us." Grue finally said before he went silent.

Tattletale took up the conversation a moment later, the sound of Grue yelling to 'Go loud' and telling Bitch to make an entrance coming through in the background. "Did you see Othala?"

"No but I didn't have much time. Kaiser, Hookwolf and Alabaster, yeah." I replied, ducking behind an air conditioner to catch my breath. The fact that the nook was an effective hiding spot was a nice bonus. "Really, I'm trying to lose some heat right now."

"Don't!"

"What?!" I didn't think I heard that right.

"You kicked up a hornet's nest. If you lose their attention, they'll start searching and that means they might find us." Tattletale explained over gunfire and more screams on her side. There was a pause as in the background, I could hear Grue demanding where Othala was, probably to some poor unlucky goon they snagged. "Actually, now you need to keep their attention so we can get out with Othala."

"You found her?" I was kind of surprised actually, mainly at how the situation had changed so quickly.

"She's here, trust me." Tattletale confirmed, not a shred of doubt in her voice. "Just keep their attention until we get her out of here, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Keep the entire E88 busy. No problem." I muttered as lightning flashed into the night sky. How hard could that be?

oO0Oo

God, I was tired…

That's all I could think as the Undersiders lept away on their monster dogs, leaving me on a rooftop far away from E88 and ABB territory with a very pissed but restrained Othala.

I was glad one of the teenaged villains had gagged her because I was pretty sure the red robed Nazi was trying to insult my lineage or something. She hadn't shut up since they dropped her off.

Whatever. I'd let her squirm and try to wiggle around but there was no way she was breaking the handcuffs and zipties the Undersiders had restrained her with.

Hell, it's not like she could use her powers or anything. She could only empower other people, so what was she going to do, make me stronger so I'd break her free or some shit?

Instead, I pulled out my phone and hit autodial for a contact.

"Hey! Are you okay?!"

I smiled as Vicky's voice came through full of concern. "I'm fine, just exhausted. I could use some help though."

"Sure! Where are you and what do you need?"

"I'm on a building just north of the NewCastle Bank and I need help getting Othala back to the PRT. Figured you could just fly her there and, you know, drop her if she gives you any trouble."

I said the last bit looking directly at the indicated villain. I watched those brown eyes of her's widen as her struggles to break her bonds stilled and she went silent.

"You just said that to make her piss herself, didn't you." Vicky accused in a flat voice before letting out a snicker.

"That would be telling." I tiredly snarked back before fighting back a yawn. "Think you can help me or should I just call the PRT?"

"I'm still suited up, so give me five and I'll be there."

"Sounds good. Thanks."

"No problem! See you soon!" The blonde girl cut the call and I put my phone away.

Thankfully, the heavy rain had passed, leaving a light drizzle in its wake. Since we were closer to downtown, the streetlights and neon signs colored the night air as the mists took on the rainbow hues.

All in all, I felt good. Tired, but good. Accomplished, even.

If only I'd known that this would kick off some of the bloodiest days Brockton Bay had seen in decades, not since the gang war caused by the gap Marquis had left behind.

If only I'd known… I wouldn't have felt so damn proud of myself.

oO0Oo

End of Chapter - 7

oO0Oo

A/N -

Damn, it's almost been a year since Chapter 6. A lot of life occurred and then I lost my muse.

You may or may not have noticed that I actually have a new story I've been working on, having nothing to do with Worm. Basically, I was using it to get the writing engine primed and running before working on KCaR again.

Now that I've got the rust knocked off my brain for creative writing, I'm planning on continuing KCaR but I don't have a timetable for Chapter 8. Could be a couple weeks, a couple days or a month. I'll do my damned best to make sure it's not another year.


	8. Chapter 8

Keep Calm and Respawn

A Worm Fanfiction

By: Konsaki

22 Apr - Morning

The spoon fell into the bowl of frosted cereal, my numb fingers twitching in the air as I stared at the television in terrible disbelief.

" _As you can see, this is live coverage of the carnage happening in the 'Captain's Hill' district. The mayor has declared a state of emergency and the Protectorate has advised all civilians to avoid this area at all costs, an evacuation order having been issued as of six forty-five this morning. If you can not evacuate, barricade your doors, cover your windows and protect yourself."_

The news anchor calmly and mostly emotionlessly droned over the live shots of gunfire and explosions below as the drone camera zoomed in on some ABB goons firing out of an alley with uzzis. A moment later, the wall they were hiding behind exploded out, revealing a mass of whirling metal in the grotesque shape of wolf.

The camera feed failed to switch before the blood went flying.

" _Again, all civilians are advised to evacuate the 'Captain's Hill' district if able and shelter in place if not. If you do attempt to evacuate, avoid all members of either the E88 or ABB. Reports have been coming in of both gangs indiscriminately attacking anyone they find."_

My hand slowly creeped up to cover my mouth in horror as the television showed scenes of bloody bodies laying in the streets, some cradling what could be children in their unmoving arms.

"My god…"

I could only shiver at Dad's dismayed words, tears leaking from my eyes as the television switched over to a buddhist temple on the north end of the Boardwalk district as it still smoked and burned.

It looked like a bomb had gone off and racist graffiti was sprayed along the walls that still stood.

My hand clamped down on my mouth as bile tried crawling up my throat, the picture changing to show the courtyard from above.

" _I was just walking down Harvard, heading back to my apartment when all of a sudden, this black van comes screeching to a halt at the temple! Next thing I know, a bunch of guys in black gear and masks jump out and bust down the main gate before all hell breaks loose! Next thing I know, there's a huge explosion blowing off the roof and people shooting and screaming!"_

The bodies had mostly been removed but a white sheet could still be seen from the air, along with multiple blood stains where others had fallen.

" _The Protectorate is clasifying this as an E88 attack and released that there were seven casualties. They haven't released any names until officials have reached the next of kin but the Asian-American Council has already released a statement of condemnation over the heinous attack against the religious center, calling it senseless violence and calling for peace. The ABB also released a statement not long before the new wave of deadly combat between the E88 and ABB broke out this morning."_

The camera feed changed to an enraged man wearing an ABB colored mask of red and green. It looked like a it was recorded using a phone camera or something, shaking around as the masked man shook in rage!

" _Those *hiss* Nazis have gone too *hiss* far and we're not going to stop until we kill every last *hiss* one of those *hiss*! Brothers! Sisters! It's kill or be killed and I'm gonna make sure it's those *hiss* bald bastards who's dead! Who's with me!"_

A roar broke out as the camera flipped to show the room of armed and riled up ABB goons before the feed cut back to the newsroom where the suited man stoically sat.

" _Kaiser, in a written statement, has categorically denied responsibility for the attack on the temple, saying the Empire-88 is an organization devoted to protecting Caucasian rights and safety and they will defend themselves to whatever extent needed. Any further questions weren't answered by the time of this report."_

The camera shifted again to another shot from the air, showing a building partially turned to glass before shifting to a crater in a main street which had water from the light rain filling it.

" _Again, this is live coverage of the hostilities between the E88 and ABB in the 'Captain's Hill' district. All civilians are advised to evacuate…"_

As the anchor started repeating the warning, my eyes hardened as the hand holding my mouth turned to a white knuckled fist before my face.

"Taylor!"

Dad's shout followed me up the stairs as I took them three at a time, slamming open my closet to grab my hero gear.

"Taylor! Don't even think about it!" Dad stormed pounded on my locked bedroom door. "You're not going out there!"

"I'm going!" I yelled back, blinking back the tears as I stripped of my sweats and pulled up my black hero pants. Quickly clasping the belt, I pulled off my t-shirt to start putting on the crimson buttoned shirt.

The handle to my door shook as Dad tried it again in frustration. "Damnit, Taylor! It's a fucking warzone out there!"

I tucked in the shirt and pulled on the vest. "I know! That's why I need to go!"

"Damnit!" I heard him curse before running into his room, probably to get the keys to the door. Shoving my feet into the black boots, I quickly pulled the laces tight before tieing them into knots and reaching back into the closet to pull out the revolver and holster.

I had just finished attaching the last clasp when I heard the key enter the lock. Reaching back into the closet, I grabbed my coat and was pulling it on as he opened the door.

"You're not going to stop me." I told him as I flipped the hood up, covering most of my face in shadows.

"Taylor Anne Hebert… Don't you dare leave this house." He warned, his voice shifting from a bellowing yell to a quiet threatening tone.

Even as he said that, I strapped my knife sheath to my left leg and patted my coat, making sure my pepper spray, tazer and collapsible baton was in their pockets. Pulling up my mask, I looked at my dad, seeing him sort of look at me like I was a different person.

"People are out there dying in the streets and it's my fault. I'm not going to hide in my room when I can fix things!" I told him as I pulled on my gloves, the leather stretching slightly around my fingers as I flexed them to make sure the rain hadn't damaged them.

"Your fault? Fix things?!" Dad stepped up to grab my shoulder. "You're a sixteen year old girl! How could this possibly be your fault?!"

I shrugged his hand off, taking a step back from him, placing a gloved hand to my chest. "I captured Othala and pissed off the E88! They murdered those people because of me!" I had to wipe my eyes but I shot a heated glare at the man who stood before me. "But I can fix this! Before anyone else suffers!"

"Taylor, don't you dare leave!" Dad started back up as I reached over and shoved my window open. "Taylor!"

I'd already jumped out, my boots indenting the small patch of grass that was our front yard.

"Taylor!"

Dad's yell chased me across the street and into the alleyway, echoing in my head as I ran as fast as my legs could take me.

oO0Oo

22 Apr - Early Afternoon

I leapt up and ran across the rooftop, heart pounding in my ears. Underneath me, gunfire ripped out of the alleyway as my targets continued to focus on something down the street. Reaching the edge, I leaped off it, bracing my legs for impact.

"Look out!" A Neo-Nazi cried out, way too late to save his buddy as my boots crashed down onto his shoulders.

"Get her!" Another yelled out, aiming his gun at me before I shot forward, my fist plowing into his armored vest.

There was a split second of silence, where I should have said a witty one-liner or something but it popped like a bubble, his body flying down the alley to explode into a pile of trash bags.

I'd long since ran out of things to say to scum like this.

I stood up from my follow-thru and turned towards the final skinhead.

The twenty something man tried to back up but found an unyielding brick wall to his back. Shaking, he threw the hunting rifle to the concrete and held up his hands. "Don't hurt me!"

"What? You mean like everyone else you've killed today?" I asked, incredulous that he'd try and surrender. I didn't even let he answer, grabbing him by the face and smashing the back of his head into the bricks.

He crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut, unconscious at my feet.

I spent the time to tie the goons up and deposit them onto the rooftop. I wanted them to face justice, not get freed by the E88 or killed by the ABB.

Pulling out my phone I looked at the missed calls list and swiped the notification off the screen. Instead I called the PRT hotline, waiting the two rings it took for it to answer.

"Respawn."

I blinked in shock. I'd been expecting the hotline operator, not the person who actually answered. "Armsmaster… Hi?"

"You are near the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Lincoln Street."

Okay, that was a statement, not a question. Are they tracking me? "I guess… How do you know?"

"I'm watching you on live television."

I blinked at that, looking up to the sky before spotting a couple drones flying around… circling my position. "Oh." I thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. "Well, you know where these guys are then."

"Don't hang up!" The man ordered, some urgency entering his voice. "We need to talk."

"Talk? About what?" I tapped the toe of my boot into the gravel roof in irritation. "I thought we were through talking when you said the PRT wasn't going to do anything!"

"You didn't let me finish." He tried to say.

"You said enough! Even right now, where are you?! Where is the PRT?! Why aren't they doing anything to stop-" The line clicked. I checked and the call was still connected. "Hello!?"

"Respawn."

I knew that voice. This was Director Piggot, director of the Brockton Bay PRT.

And she didn't sound pleased at all.

"Director." I couldn't help the contempt from eeking into my voice.

"You are making my job very difficult right now and I wanted to let you know, personally, that I do not appreciate it." Her tone matched her words, frustrated and on edge. "Now, you will stop making things worse and come down to the tower, do you understand?"

"What I 'understand' is that you still aren't doing anything and I'm trying to clean up this mess. So, no, I won't be coming to the tower. I've got work to do." With that, I moved to end the call.

"Your father wants us to bring you in."

Those words gave me pause, forcing me to bring the phone back to my ear. "What?"

"As we speak, you father is sitting in one of the private waiting rooms, speaking with Miss Militia. As parent, he has asked us to… retrieve you, so this will go one of two ways; you either come to the tower voluntarily and end this foolishness and let us do our jobs or we will be forced to 'retrieve' you."

"You're joking." It sounded way too insane otherwise.

"I assure you, I am completely serious." Indeed, her voice was a solid rock of seriousness, with an annoyed ire core. Hearing my pause, she continued on. "Do you know how close I am right now to signing an order for your arrest?"

"Arrest!?" I cried out, waving an arm at the warzone around me in agitation. "For what?!"

"Excessive force, disobeying an officer's lawful order, jaywalking; take your pick." She growled at me. I could almost hear the phone headset creaking in her hand. "I am so close to issuing it, it's literally sitting on my desk right now waiting for my signature. So get this through your pretty little head, girl, I'm giving you one last chance to return to your father and stop making this mess worse!"

I stood there on that rooftop, the drones still circling around me as I crossed my left arm over my chest. This was big but so was the war going on around me. The question was what should I do.

"I'm waiting for a response, girl." The Director's voice growled out, her ire growing by the word.

Let it not be said that I wasn't my father's daughter.

"Well, I guess if you have to come for me, you'll finally have to deal with this shit." I clicked the end button without further fanfare and pocketed the cellphone.

Then I just stood there, taking deep breaths as I dealt with what I'd just done.

"Too late now."

That was a shitty comfort after just pissing off one of the most powerful people and organizations in the city.

"Fuck."

Taking another breath, I reached a hand under the hood to rub my eyes. It was only after a few more inhales and exhales that I felt a little more centered.

Gunfire rang out in the distance, getting return fire a moment later.

With that, I kicked off into a running leap, crossing the street and dropping into the alley on the other side. "Back to work, Taylor."

I was already in trouble. Might as well make it worth it.

oO0Oo

It was around two more teams of Neo-Nazi and one ABB team taken down before I found myself stopped by a blur of red resolving itself into a Hero. A moment later, a blue costumed woman appeared next to him.

Assault and Battery, Protectorate Capes and here to 'apprehend me'.

I sighed. "Can we not do this? I'm kinda busy."

The man in the red costume gave me a sad smile. "Look, kid, I know how you feel, I really do, but you're going about this the wrong way."

"And what's the right way?" I waved a hand to the five tied up goons, two E88 and three ABB, on the other side of the rooftop. "Letting these asshats kill people until they wipe themselves out? Cause that's the only thing I can think of why the PRT hasn't done anything yet."

"Look, kid-"

"It's Respawn." I cut him off. If I had to listen to this, it wasn't going to be some guy calling me 'kid' over and over again.

"Alright, Respawn." He acquiesced, patting the air with his hands in surrender to that point. "We, I mean the PRT, are not just sitting on our hands or letting the bad guys 'bleed themselves out'."

"Then what exactly are you doing? Cause I'm drawing a blank here." I asked, planting my hands on my hips.

"Did you not even notice the blockade we set up?" The woman of the pair asked, planting her hands on her own hips.

Dammit… why does everyone else have a better figure than me and wear skin tight costumes?!

"You guys actually have a blockade set up?" I quirked an eyebrow. I'd been in 'enemy territory' for so long, they could actually have set one up and I'd wouldn't even know.

"Yeah, one was set up a almost an hour ago to prevent this from spilling over into the rest of the city." Assault confirmed, gesturing off in the distance.

"An hour?!" I couldn't believe it. What were they doing, then? "If you've been set up that long, why haven't you moved in to stop this shit?!"

"Because unlike you, we actually stay dead." Battery curtly replied, jabbing a finger out towards me like it was my fault my powers worked like that. "Do you have any idea how many people would die if we just rushed in unprepared?"

"Do you have any idea how many people have already died out here?!" I asked back, definitely getting irritated with the woman before me.

"Between two hundred and a thousand."

I blinked at her in silent shock before getting my feet back under me. "So, not only is the PRT 'not' doing anything useful, they're also estimating the bodycount like these people don't matter."

"Of course they matter!" The older woman yelled at me, pissed at my words. Good.

"Ladies! Ladies!" Assault stepped between us. "Let's all keep calm and act like adults, yeah?" He took a step back once a moment had passed, so he could see both of us on either side of him but he looked towards me. "Look, I know you're looking to fix things and save the day. I get it, I really do, I feel the same way but you've got to have a plan or else you're just running in place."

"I have a plan!" I said in my own defense.

Of course, Battery cut me off before I could continue. "What? Run around until causing trouble until either the E88 or the ABB send their Capes after you?"

"No! I was-" My body slammed into the metal air conditioning box across the roof, near the tied up goons.

At first, I thought Assault had suckerpunched me but I realised what had happened. Instead of a roof, there was a gaping hole with a very pissed off Hookwolf in full buzzsaw wolf mode. The two other heroes were safe on the next roof over, Assault spending just enough time to send me clear.

It was a nice sentiment but ultimately wasted as I pushed off in a burst of speed, veritably flying at the Nazi Cape.

"Grah!" I burned another charge to slam a power punch right in his wolf face, sending the metal construct of whirling hooks flying into the street. The front of the store was just an unfortunate casualty.

"We'll keep him busy! You get out of here!" The red clad hero yelled at me before he started blurring around the enraged villain.

Instead, I ignored the Protectorate Cape and hopped to the ground, walking straight towards the E88 lieutenant. "Hey, Big Bad Wolf! I hope you're ready cause I'm the Woodsman!"

Hookwolf heard the taunt and locked his blazing red eyes on me, letting out a howl like the beast in human flesh he was.

Then his body was sent flying into a clothes store, courtesy of a blue blur that turned back into Battery. If I remembered right, unlike her partner, she needed to recharge every few seconds but when she moved, she was invulnerable.

"You stupid little girl!" She yelled at me, even as her suit started glowing again. "Just leave already!"

"I refuse!" I yelled out as my battlecry, flying at the wolf once more as it started to extract itself from the store, shreds of cloth falling all around it like confetti.

A gunshot rang out and I fell to roll along the ground to find myself lying on my back beneath Hookwolf. He actually spent a moment to chuckle at me, finding the turn of situation amusing.

"Oh, fuck you."

I respawned a few feet away only to respawn again and again as he chased my reforming body like a cat trying to catch a laser pointer.

After the fifth or so respawn, Battery blurred in to blast Hookwolf backwards with her own punch.

"Thanks." I begrudgingly stated, gathering my wits to charge at the Nazi again.

"Get ou-AHH!" Another gunshot rang out, interrupting the heroine and forcing her to clutch her side. She stumbled to the side before falling over.

"Battery!" Her partner cried out in alarm before clothes-lining Alabaster back into an alley.

Wait, when did Alabaster show up?

I didn't really have time to think about it as Hookwolf shook his head clear and started loping back towards me and the injured PRT Cape.

Instead of meeting his charge, I found myself flung around like a can on a string. Straining my neck up and feeling like my shoulder was about to rip out, I saw Assault swinging me around by my arm before he finally let go.

Wish I could say I enjoyed the flight but tumbling over and over in the air made my stomach rebel. Lucky for me, I had enough hang time to pull my mask down when I emptied what was left of breakfast into the air. Unlucky for me, I slammed down in the middle of the street and rolled for what seemed like miles as my inertia bled off.

Well, that was five respawns worth of damage I just took.

Pushing up off the ground, I looked around to see people gaping at me in shock, some taking phones out to take photos and video.

Wait… This was almost to the Boardwalk.

Turning around, I realised just how far Assault had thrown me and found myself amazed, as I tried to look back to where I was just a minute before.

Shaking my head, I coiled my legs and shot to the rooftops, getting away from the gawking crowds.

It's like they've never seen a Hero before.

Still, this left me with a few problems. First, the PRT was still looking for me because of Dad and me pissing off Piggard. Second, it'll take me way too long to get back to the warzone and I was getting kind of tired and hungry. Third, I needed somewhere to sleep for the night, cause I sure as wasn't going home with Dad getting on my case.

oO0Oo

Dropping down off the rooftop after traveling for a bit, I pulled out my phone and dialed up Vicky.

"Girl, you are certifiably insane."

"Hello to you, too." I wryly replied to the almost immediate answer. Really, it had barely gotten one ring off.

"No, you really are insane. You know that, right?" I could almost see her holding her forehead as she shook her head.

"No, really, I love hearing my best friend question my sanity. Please, continue." I flatly stated, pulling back my hood to let my head cool in the shade.

"Taylor, you went after the Empire 88 'and' the ABB… by yourself! That's insane!" Victoria exclaimed over the phone. "I just saw Assault spin you around like a top and send you flying!"

"Yeah… that was interesting." My stomach lurched a little at the memory but I fought it back down. "Sorta like how they're trying to arrest me."

"Taylor… why is the PRT trying to arrest you?" Vicky whispered, almost like she realised how loud she had gotten.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I cringed slightly. "I kinda pissed off the Director by telling her she sucked at her job."

"You didn't."

"What else was I supposed to think?! No one wanted to do anything to stop it!"

Silence was my only response before my best friend just blew out a breath in frustration. "You know what, fine, whatever. I wanted to do something too, but Aunt Sarah wanted us to work with the PRT."

"But they weren't doing anything!"

"They were waiting on more heroes and troopers from Boston to get here!" Victoria loudly declared before dropping back to a normal level. "Taylor, why didn't you just answer your damn phone so I could have told you this?!"

"I had it on silent because Dad kept blowing it up every time I forced it to voicemail."

"And why didn't you just answer him?"

I couldn't help but let out a sigh. "We got into a fight over me going to stop the fighting."

Victoria just let out a put upon keening noise from her side. "Taylor… I love you as a friend but you're being really stupid… and that's coming from me."

"Like you haven't had any fights with your Mom." I scoffed at the thought, having had to listen to the girl complain about her mother a couple times at least since I became friends with her.

"Not about me rushing to fight two gangs by myself!" Vicky exclaimed. "Seriously! Do your powers drive you to be suicidal or something?!"

"Maybe." I could only shrug. "Is it suicidal if you know you won't die?"

"Gah! You're going to drive 'me' insane!"

I let out a sigh, the day's adrenaline fading away to leave me weary. "Vicky, can I crash at your place tonight?"

"Oh, oh no. Not happening." Vicky immediately replied, emphasising her rejection.

I blinked in shock at the unexpected tone. "What?! Why not?!"

"Because Mom would blast you and then keep blasting you until she figured out how to knock you out and then drag your ass to the PRT! That's why!"

"What."

"Yeah, she's still pissed at you." Vicky replied with a snort of amusement. "Something to do with you calling her out and then you actually capturing Othala. If she knew you were wanted by them, she'd turn you in in a heartbeat."

I worked my mouth as I processed that information. "What? Did she expect me to go fight the gangs and fail?"

"I don't know but news of Othala's capture made her suck lemon and you're pretty much not welcome here because of that. I mean, I'd let you stay but…"

"But your Mom hates me, right." I finished off with a sigh.

"She doesn't hate you but you're definitely not her favorite person right now. She'll get over it eventually, just give her some time to cool down. As for me, I'm really sorry but I'm sorta on thin ice with her as it is, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it." I really did, having my looming 'discussion' with my dad sometime in the future to look forward to. I was going to do my damnedest to not have it happen today, though. "Okay, well… I guess I'll call you later."

"Taylor…" She started up before pausing. I could picture her worrying her lower lip in thought before she let out a sigh. "Give your dad a call. Don't push it off."

I held my words for a moment before letting out a breath. "I'll talk to you later."

I cut the connection before leaning against the alley wall and sinking to the ground. I reached up to grip my head as I let out a keening whine.

All I wanted to do was fix the city. Why was everything going to hell?

Hearing a siren scream by nearby to fade in the distance just served to remind me I was now technically a fugitive from the law.

"God dammit…"

oO0Oo

22 Apr - Evening

Looking out at the sun setting over the mountains overlooking the E88's side of Brockton Bay, I let out a long sigh.

I'd had a couple hours to cool down, grab some food and think over things.

Yeah, I might have been a little rash but I still think I did the right thing. Maybe I could have hashed thing out with Dad instead of running off but I planned on calling him in the morning. We both needed time to cool down, so I thought sleeping on it was the right route to go.

That still left me with a dearth of options, my main choice of sleeping at Vicky's out of the question.

Crashing with the Wards was laughable, as even considering it was sheer stupidity. Yeah, not like I wasn't wanted or anything.

I tried Parian but she wasn't answering her phone. I hoped it was because she was busy or something and not because she'd been caught in this mess.

Looking at my phone, I pondered over my final option and the pros and cons involved. Taking a glance over my shoulder, I saw the storm clouds building out in the bay. "Great. There goes sleeping under the stars."

Not like I'd actually do that, considering it still got into the low 50's at night.

Coming to a decision, I pressed dial and put the phone to my ear.

"Hey, girlfriend! Have fun today?"

Having the villainess so familiar with me still made me feel odd but beggars couldn't be choosers right now.

"Hey… and, it's complicated." I hedged as I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "Actually, I was wondering if I could crash at your place tonight."

"Sure! My bed's always open for you."

Wait… did I hear that right? "What? Your bed?"

"The spare bed? The one you crashed in already?" Tattletale snorted in amusement. "Sorry but if you think you're sleeping in 'my' bed you're dreaming. You haven't even taken me to dinner and a movie yet."

I just pulled the phone away and looked at it. Was she just screwing with me? Making fun of me, I mean. Gah! Was this worth it?

Hearing the thunder rumbling from the bay, I sighed and put the phone back to my ear.

"You okay?" I was a little surprised to hear the concern in her voice.

"Just tired." I answered wearily, reaching up to rub my forehead. "It's been a long day."

"I can guess. I watched you kick ass on the news for a bit earlier. We can talk about it more when you get there." Tattletale stated easily, rattling off an address for me to head towards. It was appreciated as I'd only been there once before and was unconscious when I arrived. "If I don't answer the door, the code is 91372846."

"All that for your door lock?" I boggled at the long number she wanted me to remember.

"Yup, and that's just this week's code." The villainess laughed at my question. "If you can't remember it, just call me right before you get there."

"Yeah, I'll do that." I stood from the roof edge and figured out what direction I needed to go to get to Tattletale's apartment. I was pretty sure it was more of a safehouse than her actual apartment but it was better than nothing. "Thanks for this."

"No problem, girlfriend! More than happy to help!"

oO0Oo

The sun had finally fallen by the time I arrived, allowing me to move under the cover of darkness. Instead of knocking, I tapped in the code Tattletale had given me, a soft click and a green light allowing admittance to the other girl's apartment safehouse.

"Mi casa, es tu casa."

Tattletale waved at me from where she was seated before the television on a plush couch, her pastel blue sweater hanging off a shoulder while her strawberry blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail.

On the television, I could see the news going over the day's events. At the moment, it showed a zoomed in view of some E88 goons running through the alleyways before stopping at an intersection.

"Thanks for letting me crash here." I replied to the relaxing girl. She acted like this wasn't even a big thing, a hero walking into a villain's residence.

"This isn't my only safehouse if that's what you're worried about." She said with a grin, looking over her shoulder as the muted television played beyond her. "It's written all over your face. Now, come on and sit down and relax. You look like you could use it."

I took her up on her offer, flopping down into the nearby recliner, sinking into the plush leather slightly.

"Geeze, take off the jacket and relax, will you?" Tattletale rolled her eyes while waving a hand at herself. "Do I look like I'm in 'Cape' mode?"

That's when I realised she wasn't wearing a mask. She just looked like a normal teenage girl watching television. "Wait a second… where's your mask?"

"Ah, ah, ah!" She waved a finger at me in a chiding manner. "No answers until you relax. I'm not saying you've got to unmask yourself but I do mean no coat or equipment. In fact, I've got some spare clothes that should fit you laid out on your bed."

I just stared at her like she'd grown a third eye right there in the center of her forehead. "Are you serious?"

"No, I do this for every hero that crashes at my place." She rolled her eyes before giving me a 'shooing' gesture. "Actually, go take a shower. You could use one."

I just stared at her.

"Shoo!" She waved me away again with a grin.

I just let out a sigh, climbing out of the chair to enter the spare bedroom. True enough, there was a cream colored skirt and cherry red top laid out on the comforter with a pair of house slippers on the floor.

"Fuck it." I surrendered, the lure of a hot shower calling me like a siren's song as I shucked my coat and weapons. It's not like I was defenseless if this turned out to be a trap. Taking the time to stab myself to clean my Cape clothes, I gathered up the borrowed outfit and headed towards the bathroom.

"Enjoy yourself!" Tattletale called from the couch, with a lazy wave over her head.

Damn her... the shower felt amazing.

"Feel better now?"

"Yeah." I had to agree, smoothing out the knee length skirt as I sat in the recliner. It felt a little odd to be wearing my mask while still in 'normal' clothes but I wasn't about to fully unmask in front of Tattletale.

"How do the clothes fit?" She asked, looking me over with an approving eye.

"Not bad, I guess." I answered with a shrug. They weren't my style or exact size but I wasn't preparing for a date or anything.

Yeah, like I'd be worried about going on a date right now. Right now, I actually wanted to have some answers. "Why are you doing this, Tattletale?"

"Call me Lisa out of costume." She corrected me with a smile before leaning back. "As for why, it's cause I want to."

"No, really. Why?" I waved my arms wide to encompass the room. "I mean, I get it. I saved you from Lung but you paid me back by letting me recover. Even with Othala, I would have done it alone but you did it because Coil paid you or something."

I could see her lips thin ever so slightly when I mentioned Coil. It was so minor, I would have missed it if I wasn't suspicious and searching for an answer.

Tattle… Lisa let out a breath before speaking. "When I told you that you had a spot on the Undersiders if you wanted it, it wasn't a one time thing. Even if it's just you being friendly with us so you don't hunt us down anytime we do something, that's still fine."

"So, what? That's all this is? Another recruitment opportunity." I raised an eyebrow at the blonde villainess.

"Partially." She admitted with a shrug. She must of saw my disbelief that she'd just admit that, as she chuckled lightly. "What? You think I'd be an idiot and lie about it? It's pretty obvious."

I had to nod at that. "Okay, sure. But you said 'partially'. What other reasons do you have for helping me out?"

"I'd like to be friendly with you on a personal level." Lisa stated, indicating her and me with a hand. "Not you and the Undersiders but you and me."

"Which is why you unmasked yourself?" Sure I'd seen her without her full costume but she still wore a mask that time. Here, she even gave me her name… if it was her real one.

She nodded to me with a small smile. "Don't expect any of the others to go this far. Grue is interested in you joining the team but don't think the others trust you, especially not Bitch."

"What was her problem anyways?" I had to ask, remembering the warehouse meeting.

Lisa just tapped her head. "She's messed up up here. We just work around it for the most part but she sort of takes the whole 'pack mentality' thing to extremes. You aren't one of us, so you're an outsider and a threat, even if you're not a direct enemy. It's as easy as that."

"Okay, fine, back to us. Why try to be friends with me? I'm still a hero."

"And I'm a thief."

I was going to say villain but whatever. "Exactly! I mean, if I didn't have bigger fish to go after, I'd be trying to arrest you guys."

"No one says you have to."

I just looked at the girl seated on the couch. "What are you getting at?"

"No one's telling you that you have to hunt down the Undersiders. You're not a part of the PRT, they can't order you to do it. You're not part of New Wave or some other hero family, so there's no pressure there."

"Why are you trying so hard to convince me to leave you guys alone when you could just as easily stop being villains?" I questioned, getting a little exacerbated with the line of dialog.

"Because sometimes you don't have a choice."

That made me pause. "You're being forced to this?"

She nodded in response. "Don't get me wrong. Outsmarting everyone and getting away with it feels amazing. The adrenaline rush is almost orgasmic, at times. Being a thief is fun, for the most part. Sure, there are downsides, like pissing off Lung and whatnot, but I wouldn't have even done that job if I didn't have a gun pointed to my head."

"Which is why you're trying to be friends with me." I gave her a mildly accusing look. "You're looking to find a way out."

"More of I'm trying to get my neck out of the noose but still pretty accurate." Lisa admitted with another shrug.

"But why me?"

"Because you, Taylor Hebert, are a wildcard."

I shot out of the recliner to glare down at the unconcerned villain. "How do you know that?!"

"Your name? I've known since Lung." Li- Tattletale waved off my ire. "Since your dad started asking about you on PHO."

That got me to step back in shock as I remembered her powers. She was a Thinker! She'd known for that long and could have done who knows what with that information. She knew who dad was!

But…

"What are you doing? Why all this…"

"Beating around the bush?" I had to nod. "What? It should of gone something like, 'Oh, hey! I know your name, address, Dad and where you go to school! I know I'm a villain but you should really help me break free from another villain! This is totally not a trap!'? I'm not that stupid and neither are you." She sarcastically stated before giving me a look. "I know it's not what you want to hear but I've known for a week and you need to know that I know. I haven't done anything with it but I know."

I just stood there and looked down into her green eyes that looked back unwaveringly.

Slowly, I sat back down on the edge of the recliner, clenching my fists over my knees before letting out a breath.

Okay, I need to think about this. Rushing in has already blown up in my face enough times today alone. What do I need to do about this?

Wait… some neuron seemed to fire just right for a split second.

"You unmasked yourself to me."

"I did." She nodded, a business like look on her face. "I wanted everything on the table, within reason. I didn't want you to think I'm trying to hold anything over you, like he is to me."

"Is it Coil?" It was a guess but with what little clues I had, it made a little sense. She called him boss at the meeting, said it was a villain who was threatening her and now a 'he'.

"Good guess." She grinned at me, confirming my suspicions before scowling. "Yeah, he's the one holding my leash and the gun to my head." Her eyes took a sharp look. "I've been looking for a way out from under him since day one with no luck but then you appeared and I figured, why not now?"

I had a lot of questions on my tongue but I finally settled on, "Why me?"

"Because you're a wildcard. You're unpredictable, at least in some small way." Lisa replied, twirling a finger in the air. "With everything you've been doing, Coil has been forced to work around you, at least a little, and he's annoyed about it."

"What does that even mean?"

Lisa tapped her thigh meaningfully. "That thing with Lung? Coil tipped him off."

I flinched back in surprise. "But don't you work for him?"

"Yeah but if having one or more of us injured or killed serves his plans better, Coil's the kind of snake that will go with it." The girl before me stated. "But he didn't expect you and that threw off his plans. Now he's working working with the cards that he's been dealt but he's also keeping an eye out for the Joker that's moving about the table."

It didn't take a genius to realise I was that 'Joker'. "He's been asking about me."

"He's been asking about you." She confirmed. "And your family and your friends and anything else he can use to pull you into his grasp… or remove you from play."

That sent a chill up my spine.

"His power is some form of future prediction, where he always has a second chance to win. It's kinda hard to explain and it's not really important. What is important is that his 'Snake' motif is perfect in so many ways it's criminal." She continued on, holding up fingers one by one. "He waits for the perfect opportunity to strike. If he doesn't have something over you from the start, he'll sweet talk or offer you something to get you to work for or with him. Once your in his clutches, he won't let go and keeps squeezing you for all your worth. If he can't grab you, he'll find a way to bite you, letting the poison do the work for him."

I could guess that the 'poison' was metaphorical but latched onto something else. "What did he offer you?"

"My life or a bullet. He didn't even have to say it out loud, my powers filled me in almost immediately." Lisa said with a sigh. "I got too cocky and started using my powers too much and he found me." She shook her head. "Can't say I don't enjoy the thrill of the job but having a killer boss isn't my style of living, you know?"

"I can guess." I thought about the villain I'd met at the meeting and how… unconcerned he seemed, as if he owned everyone in the room and was just acting out a scene. The thought that he was asking about Dad… "And you haven't told him anything?"

"Anything worthwhile? No… but Coil's starting to put on the pressure, especially after what you were doing today." I blinked as she waved a hand towards the television, where a still frame of me as Respawn sat in an info box while a woman talked silently. "Remember the meeting? When Coil said this gang war was bad for business?"

I nodded. "Yeah?"

"Like a true snake, that was only barely half true and more of a half lie." She informed me with a sharp look. "Yeah, it's bad for business if you only think about the here and now. It's beyond exceptional for his long term plans, with the E88 and ABB kicking the shit out of each other and us 'minions' even capturing some of their Capes. It all works right into his plan."

"What plan?"

"To become the next Marquis. To become the next King of Brockton Bay."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "That's insane! The PRT wouldn't let him do that!"

"Not if he runs the Brockton Bay PRT." Those eight words shut me down in shock. "He's already on the inside, that's why I can't even 'turn myself in'. He'd have me killed faster than you can blink. I simply know too much."

"So it's either take Coil down or you die." I summed up with a frown.

"No." She rebuked my statement with a shake of her strawberry blond hair. "It's either take Coil down or Brockton Bay burns. Who do you think is hampering the PRT right now? They can't get any reinforcements to stop this war because he's using his influence inside and out of the PRT to cause trouble in the surrounding cities. And!" She cut me off. "And, he's the one keeping the gang war going! Hell, he's adding gasoline to the fire!"

She held up her phone that showed a news post of the buddhist temple massacre. "It wasn't the E88 that did that! It has Coil's fingerprints all over it, if you know what to look for."

"Wait! Wait!" I waved my hands to stop the other girl from talking. "You're telling me, Coil is some supervillain, who no one even really talks about, that has enough power to control gangs in the surrounding cities and connections inside the PRT and his ultimate goal is to take over the city, like some cartoon villain."

"Yes, to everything but the cartoon part. No. Coil is deadly serious, with emphasis on the 'deadly'. If he knew a way to kill you and keep you dead, I wouldn't be talking to you right now."

"Why does he want me dead?" I asked in disbelief. I hadn't actually done anything against him… yet.

"The same reason I'm asking for your help." Lisa leaned forward and looked me in the eye.

"I can't ' _see_ ' you."

oO0Oo

End of Chapter - 8

oO0Oo

A/N -

She's **John CEEEEENAAA!** _Doot Doot doot Doot!_

Sorry, I just had to do that. XD

For those of you who spot any spelling or grammar errors, send me a PM with the line I screwed up in. I'll fix it but when I'm writing as fast as I am, I'm going to miss things. Sorry.


	9. Chapter 9

Keep Calm and Respawn

A Worm Fanfiction

By: Konsaki

23 Apr - Morning

"You've reached the Hebert residence. We can't answer the phone right now, so please leave a message after the beep."

I waited for the answering machine message to finish, a small knot growing in my stomach at Dad not answering the phone for the second time this morning.

"Hey, Dad, it's me again. I guess you're still out, so…" I paused, unsure what exactly to say. I'd already told him I was fine and where I was in the first message. "Just call me, okay?"

I hung up and sighed, tucking the phone back into the navy blue gym bag I was carrying. Adjusting the strap on my shoulder, I took a moment to appreciate the training I'd put myself through as I barely felt the weight of my costume and equipment inside.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it." Lisa commented from beside me as we both walked down the street in civilian clothes. "If Coil has your dad, he'd already be holding it over you."

"If you say so." I replied, not completely sure but willing to go with her experience on this.

Glancing over, I checked out her outfit once more and sighed. She'd chosen to wear a strappy hot pink tanktop and dark shorts, drawing anyone's eyes to her and her assets.

I guess that was kind of the point, to keep anyone's eyes occupied so they wouldn't really pay attention to our faces.

I was still wearing the plain red blouse and cream skirt outfit she'd set out for me last night. Looking down at my own bumps, I knew there was no way I could pull that look off. Still, they seemed to look a little bigger… was it the top I was borrowing or just my imagination?

Letting out a sigh, I tried to push my inferiority complex out of my head.

Don't think of pink elephants.

A flash of hot pink drew my eyes again.

"Like the view?"

God dammit. I felt my face go flare with heat as I turned my head forward once more. It didn't stop Lisa's laughter. "How can you wear that?!"

"Very well, I'd like to think." Lisa reached over and poked my cheek with a grin. "And considering your face, you agree."

I just groaned, palming my face with both hands. This was just another example of an aspect of Lisa I'd come to the conclusion to after our conversation last night.

Lisa loved messing with people and that included me. Once I pegged that down, all the teasing and suggestive comments made sense.

It also explained why she said 'I can't 'see' you' instead of saying 'My Thinker powers can't read you but I can learn about you from other sources'. Of course, even that wouldn't be the full explanation.

Eventually, as far as I understood it, it looked like my powers made me a personal walking blank spot in the world to Thinker powers… or at least Lisa's. But that was only me. My clothes and equipment could be read, if not for the fact that when they respawned with me, they lost their 'history' before the respawn.

So it was almost impossible to just 'look' at me and find out my life's history or something. That didn't stop her from finding that information through Dad, in a roundabout way.

It went something like this: She saw his PHO post and her powers told her 'this guy is looking for his daughter' and he's 'Danny Hebert'. Some searches on the internet later and she found an old news article Dad was in about the Dockworkers Union that also mentioned Mom and me.

Or at least that was the 'Thinkers for Dummies' version of the explanation. Lisa said a lot more had gone into it but she didn't want to spend all night explaining it. Basically, it was sort of like those brain teasers that were impossible to solve unless you looked at them from a specific frame of mind.

But that did call into question just how the quirk of my respawn powers would affect Coil. Without knowing exactly how his powers worked, other than a vague 'he always gets a second chance', it was just a bunch of guesswork. That led to the roadblock of how exactly could we develop a plan to defeat him.

Of course, it wasn't exactly just how his powers worked, it was also the fact that we didn't know just how powerful he was as a Villain.

We knew he had enough money to hire Faultline's Crew and the Travelers, or had something to offer each group worth hiring them, but exactly how many resources did he have to throw around? If what Lisa had said was true about the attack on the temple being Coil's work, he also had to have at least some normal mercenaries on hand.

That didn't even cover the fact that Lisa believed Coil had moles or something in the PRT.

It pretty much meant that once we brought the PRT into the plan, the odds of Coil finding out we were actively working against him was a given. The real question of how long did we have before he found out and pieced it together.

With that in mind, we didn't waste time, enacting the first step of the plan.

"Here we are." Lisa broke me out of my thoughts, walking into a nondescript alleyway.

Looking around, I found myself at the same warehouse we'd met at for the Othala raid. It looked quite a bit different in the morning light or it could be the fact that we were approaching from the ground. Either way, Lisa opened up a nondescript metal door and waved me inside.

The transition from sunlight to dimly lit warehouse took a few seconds to adjust but when it did, I saw the rest of the Undersiders standing around a table.

It felt really odd to meet them without my costume on, but Lisa had explained how this would fast track some level of trust in me and make this a whole lot easier. It wasn't easy for her but she finally convinced me.

I still wasn't fully convinced this was going to work.

"I didn't come here to meet your new toy. Who is she and why is she here?" Bitch demanded, a normal sized labrador and rottweiler at her feet.

"Don't get your panties into a twist, Bitch." Lisa said as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder and guided me up to the table. "I'd like to introduce our new teammate."

The three villains just turned their gaze from Lisa to me. The silence was like a weight crushing down on my shoulders.

"Uh… hi?" I gave a weak wave, before lamely dropping the hand.

"Did you finally have an aneurysm or something, Tats?" Regent mocked, using his powers to have Lisa tap her own head.

"No, I haven't and don't do that." The blonde growled, releasing me to something something on her phone. A final press of a button had Regent's phone ping.

I blinked as he checked it and grimaced. I was curious as to what she sent him but was fine with the distraction.

Too bad Grue had to bring it back to me. "Tattletale, what's going on here?"

"Like I said, meet our new teammate, Taylor." She waved a hand towards me. "Though you might know her better as Respawn."

That had the three other Undersiders looking to me once more, only differently.

"But she looks nothing like Respawn." Regent complained. "And Respawn's as flat as a board."

I didn't know whether or not I should be insulted by that.

"That's the point of costumes, genius." Lisa rolled her eyes before putting her hands on the table. "But let's get down to business, shall we? What would you guys say if I had a plan to set us for life with one last job."

"Bullshit." Bitch replied but leaned forward in interest.

"I've got to agree with her, Tattletale." Grue chipped in but sat ready to listen.

"Well, thanks to our friend here, we've got the perfect opportunity to kill three birds with one stone." Lisa stated, tapping the table for emphasis. "And when I say 'set for life', I mean millions for each of us after the split."

"So where does she come into this?" Regent asked, pointing towards me.

"I'm going to 'reform' you guys and get rid of your Villain status." I replied, playing the part Lisa had coached me to earlier.

"I'm not seeing how that makes us rich." Regent commented, looking from me to Lisa.

"That's cause it's once we become 'Rogues' or 'Heroes', take down Coil and steal his money, we're free to do whatever we want afterwards." Lisa explained.

That got a few seconds of silence before Grue spoke. "Tattletale, Coil's the one who's paying us for these jobs."

"He's also the one that tried to kill us by telling Lung we were stealing from him." Lisa countered, tapping the table again. "Think about it. Lung was supposed to be at a meeting with his lieutenants at the docks, not breathing fire down our necks. We got into that place without setting off any alarms and I've gone over all the 'coincidences' and ruled them out. The only thing left is Coil double crossing us."

"But why would he keep paying us if he wanted us dead." Regent asked.

"Because she happened." Lisa put an arm around my shoulder. "And whatever plan he had with us becoming dragon food got scrapped. But if he's tried to off us once, what's going to stop him the next time it works into his plans."

She let that settle over the rest of her team before continuing on. "Why not make a clean break and pad our bank accounts at the same time? It's win/win!"

"Let's say this is real. What's your plan for this, Lisa?" Grue placed his hands on the table to lean more into the light.

She favored the black costumed Cape with a wide grin. "I'm glad you asked."

oO0Oo

23 Apr - Noon

"You know, when we talked about me joining the Undersiders, I kinda figured we'd work together, not split into two groups again." I commented, loading the last E88 goon onto Bitch's monster dog.

"Blame it on your powers." Tattletale replied as she tied the good in place from the other side of the dog. "You're too effective working by yourself taking these guys down."

"Yeah, I get that, but aren't we supposed to be showing me working with you guys?" I asked, stepping back as the purple costumed teen moved around to my side of the beast.

Tattletale just waved to the air, showing the news drone with its camera scoped on the three girls and the two monster dogs. "This'll be good until either of us encounter a Cape. Then we'll dogpile 'em and that'll be that."

"What if it's Lung again?" I asked, my mouth quirking up under my mask.

"Then we'll run as fast as we can. Take him on again? No, thank you. But before I go..." She smirked at me before wrapping me in a hug and leaning in under my hood.

"W-what are you doing?!" I panicked. I mean, why would I expect her to be a breath's width away from kissing me?!

"Just playing to the cameras." She whispered before backing away with a small smokey smile.

"Are you two done wasting my time?" Bitch cut in, her annoyance as blunt as the rest of her body language.

Tattletale just laughed and pulled herself up behind the larger teen before blowing me a kiss. "Give us a call when you need us."

As they leaped away, I just stood there in shock, watching as they vanished around a corner down the road.

Shaking my head clear, I let out a sigh. Conflicting emotions churned in my chest but my brain won out in the end. I had a job to do and a burst of wild gunfire just hammered it home.

Darting into the alleyway to the north, I charged towards the fighting, vaulting over ramshackle barricades and turned over dumpsters. The trek took me around a dozen blocks, but once I arrived, I blanched at what I saw.

The entire street was bathed in blood.

The brutality of it all had me staring in shock, taking in the shredded vehicles and piles of meat left behind in the carnage.

Belatedly, I noticed the sole ABB ganger in one piece, only he was made of colored glass. Like a stained glass sculpture made to look like a gang member throwing something. Considering the area around him was also glassed, I could only guess that the Bakuda bomb went off too early or he cooked it too long or something.

It was a little surreal, if I had to put words to it, I just sort of… treated it like an interactive movie or something. Walking into the aftermath, I could hear my boots tapping on the asphalt but didn't care that my left foot splashed in a small pool of drying blood. It just seemed… fake but more real than anything I'd experienced at the same time.

"Guys, Hookwolf is in the area." I guess I activated my earpiece.

"How do you know?" Grue questioned.

Looking around me once more, I sighed. "I'm standing in pureed ABB."

Tattletale's voice broke in. "Do you see any trails or anything?"

Looking around, I saw an easily visible trail of blood heading away from the area. "He was headed east from here. I'm on St. Arnold Street."

"Try to track him down. We'll catch up!" Tattletale said over the earpiece.

"We're at Grayson and-" Grue's voice cut off as I disconnected the call.

I took one last look of the dead around me. Maybe the one goon could've been saved if he was just frozen instead of glassed but it was a fool's errand to worry about him now.

Turning so I had the sun to my back, I started moving, kicking off in long charging leaps.

Another wild burst of fire and an explosion drew my attention, a few streets north of where I was. I took a shortcut over the rooftops but I needed to shoot myself a few times with the revolver to recharge.

Leaping off the final roof, I was welcomed with the sight of Hookwolf biting down on an ABB ganger. Thankfully, the screams were silenced quickly but blood drained from the metal construct's mouth like rivers.

My boots barely touched the ground before I shot forward my fist cocked back for a charged punch. I didn't bother with any battlecries or yells, I just let my fist do the talking.

Hookwolf's metal body flew sideways into the warehouse, blowing through the thin metal wall.

With the E88 Cape off the street, I heard running and saw two ABB goons tossing their guns to the ground in their flight.

I just let them leave as I found my target. Looking around, I found the information I also needed. "I found Hookwolf. I'm on MacArthur around the 2200s."

"We're on the way!" Grue responded as Hookwolf tore out of the building.

"Come on, you son of a bitch!" I challenged the Nazi Villain, the hooks on his wolf form slowly churning in anticipation. He lunged at me with a howl, the metal spikes that his form had for teeth still glazed with crimson.

I ducked under his charge, knees bent and fist cocked in preparation. The next instant, I launched upwards, burning my last two charges to plow my fist into Hookwolf's gut and send his mass skyward. I'd pulled out my revolver and replenished a few charges before his body'd even crashed to the ground.

Everything Tattletale could tell us about him made it seem like his body was protected somewhere in that mass of metal. Well I hoped the fucked could feel that hit.

Seeing the wolf push up off the asphalt, I couldn't see any indication he did.

With that, I charged one more into battle.

He dodged to the left and swatted me away with a clawed paw. I slammed up wide down into a wall, bricks raining down around me. Then his body freaking slammed down on me, angry snarling tons of shredding metal hooks gouging into the concrete.

A blood red eye blew apart as a bullet ripped through it.

I'd respawned just two yards away. How could I miss?

The false organ reformed a few seconds later as his head jerked to snap my gun arm off.

I shot him in the face with it a moment later as I lept away to gain some breathing room.

"Get him into an alley or building!"

Trusting that meant Grue was ready, I charged at the big bad wolf once more before hopping to the side as his teeth snapped at air. A dive forward kept me free of his back legs, which shot over me as he spun against my movements.

Finding myself in a runner's starting position, I pushed off, my shoulder slamming into Hookwolf's stomach and into a large grocery store.

Before I had time to think, darkness flooded the building, an inky viscous substance that made me feel unclean.

Somewhere in the dark chaos, Hookwolf shredded me as he panicked, forcing a respawn.

"Jump!" A voice whispered into my ear.

I looked around but it was as if light had no meaning and the world was nothing but tar. I could feel the substance as I waved a hand before me but couldn't see my own arm.

But I did know the floor was right beneath my feet.

Coiling my legs beneath me, I shot upwards, crashing through the ceiling and roof above to emerge once more into the land of light.

"Now!" I heard someone yell as something collided into me, throwing me to the side as wisps of dark substance streamed off the arms covering my face.

After coming to a stop, washing away the broken ribs and road rash with a thought, I saw Bitch astride her dog. Beyond her beast, I saw Tattletale and Regent tossing in what looked like grenades but I couldn't hear any explosions.

Shaking my head, I finally remembered about the gas grenades she'd saved from an earlier heist or so she said. Tattletale said they were for knocking out rooms of normal people if shit hit the fan but it might work against Hookwolf, too.

"Think that's enough?" Regent asked, as I slowly stood up and shook off the last of the darkness clinging to me.

"I sure hope so." The purple clad blonde replied, touching her ear. "What's happening in there, Grue?"

A crash somehow made its way out of the sound absorbing shadows. "He's slowing down, but he's-"

A crash of bricks crumbling into the alley below sounded into the air.

"Shit. They weren't enough." Tattletale cursed, mounting back onto the waiting monster mutt.

Running over to the edge of the building, I looked down to see Hookwolf shaking the shadows from his construct's face before stumbling slightly.

"Do you have any more?!" I yelled back, only to have Regent throw a grenade to me.

Catching it, I leapt from the roof to fall onto the enemy Cape, relatively safe from the barely moving hooks that covered the metal wolf. Raising from my crouch, I lifted my right boot and power stomped right along the spine, a glorious crack filling the air.

At first, I wondered if I'd actually killed him as the wolf collapsed to the ground but, like his eye repairing, Hookwolf started moving after a moment.

Wasting no more time, I ran to his wolf face, pulled the pin on the grenade and shoved it into his dagger filled maw.

I barely had enough time to jump away before I hearing a loud hiss. Landing in a backwards slide, I witnessed the effect of the point blank gas grenade.

If Hookwolf was stumbling before, he was acting like someone shoved an entire bar's worth of booze down his gullet.

I think we all just watched the event, as the Neo-Nazi cape stumbled into walls and dumpsters, in morbid curiosity. Eventually, he just slumped over, his wolf form melting away to leave a shirtless, tattooed man laying on his side.

"Fuck yeah!" Regent cheered from above me.

"Nice one, Respawn." Tattletale complimented me from my earpiece. "Let's bag this creep and turn him in."

"On it." I answered as I started pulling zip ties out of my coat.

I had barely taken a step before Hookwolf became Grue.

"What the hell?!" The teen yelled in confusion, turning around to face me before pointing beyond me. "The fuck you think you're doing?!"

"Thanking you for doing our work for us." Trickster replied, giving a sarcastic half bow while holding his top hat over his conductor's outfit. The air shimmered behind the mercenary villain as he took a step backwards. "Couldn't have done it without you!"

Then he was gone.

"Find that bastard!" Regent yelled at Bitch, who was already directing her mount to the mouth of the alley.

"They can't be too far!" Tattletale called over my earpiece, looking around from her rooftop vantage point.

"The scent doesn't go anywhere!" Bitch informed us as her dog let out a frustrated growl.

Burning myself dry again, I leapt up to grab hold of the roof edge and pull myself over. Looking down the street to the east, I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. "I don't see anything!"

"They have to be close by. At least within line of sight." Tattletale said, frustration evident in her voice. "At least Trickster has to but that portal thing is new!"

"Wait! I think I see something!" Regent got our attention from the same rooftop as Tattletale but pointing to the south. "The next street over!"

"Everyone, mount up!" Bitch commanded, the dog she was riding moving towards the already running Grue.

Letting out a breath, I pulled out my revolver and fired a few bullets through my skull. It'd have to do, because the Undersiders were already on the move. Even with the boosted jumps, by the time I caught up, the Undersiders were in search mode instead of chasing anything. "Where are they?!"

"I don't know!" Tattletale was a few seconds shy of pulling her hair out. I couldn't blame her, I felt the same way. Having all your hard work sniped out from underneath was infuriating.

"They were here but there's no trail to follow!" Bitch growled, her dogs sniffing at the air to find the lost scent.

"It had to be that portal Trickster went through." Grue reasoned, looking around while clenching a fist. "Did they get a new member?"

"I don't know but we need more vision." The purple clad Cape responded before pointing towards an five or six story apartment complex a few buildings over that had an antenna on the roof. "Respawn, get up there and look around. Maybe you can spot them."

Even with the improved view from the raised elevation, I wouldn't see any sign of the Travelers or our target. We searched the area for a while longer but finally had accept the bitter reality before us.

They'd escaped with our prey.

oO0Oo

23 Apr - Early Afternoon

I entered the back room of Fugly Bob's, finding Glory Girl, Gallant and Clockblocker seated with drinks before them. Seeing a fourth seat, I sat down across from Gallant and let out a sigh, pulling down my mask to take a drink of the ice water before me.

Glory Girl waved to me. "I already ordered for you."

"Thanks." I let out a tired sigh.

"Tough day at the office?"

"You could say that." I looked at Clock out of the corner of my eye. "The Travelers stole Hookwolf right out from under us."

"We saw." Gallant said, with a nod. "Not them taking him but your fight and then all of you rushing off."

"How'd they do it?" Glory Girl asked, leaning forward with her elbows on the table.

"Trickster swapped Hookwolf with Grue and then they used a portal or something." I rubbed my tired eyes.

"Either way, you did a good job. Hookwolf's in a holding cell for transport to the Birdcage right now." Gallant told me, I guess hoping to make me feel better or something.

"Just wish we were the ones to turn him in. It's going to make things tougher now." I mused, looking up the to ceiling in thought.

"Actually, why are you still working with the Undersiders? I thought you were done after the Othala thing." Glory Girl asked, leaning towards me.

I cringed at the question. "It's kinda complicated, so don't jump to conclusions. Okay?"

"You mean like you and Tattletale being a 'thing'?" Clock asked, the grin visible thanks to him currently wearing a half mask.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. "No, we are not a 'thing'. She did it to mess with everybody, me included."

"So she kissed you to troll everyone?"

"She didn't even kiss me, Clock! It just looked like it!" I told him, my voice raising with each word.

"Clockblocker, back off." Gallant ordered before turning back to me. To the side, the white suited time Cape held his hands up in surrender. "You were saying it was complicated. How so?"

"Long story short, I'm one of the Undersiders now but- BUT, that's because I'm trying to reform them." I had to hold my hand up to stop Glory Girl's outburst. "Part of the reason we were going after Hookwolf was to try and show them 'changing their ways'."

"You're working with the Undersiders."

My best friend's words were more a statement than a question but I nodded anyways. "Yes."

"Please tell me Tattletale's blackmailing you or something so I can punch her lights out!" She begged me.

"Actually, she's the one being blackmailed." That brought the room to a shocked silence. "It's a long story but she didn't join the Undersiders willingly. She asked me to help her take down the villain doing the blackmailing to free her and the others. I said yes but the Undersiders had to go Rogue at least."

"How sure are you? That's a pretty crazy situation." Gallant asked.

I just shrugged. "As much as I can be. There's more info I can't tell you yet but she's trusting me too."

"So, what are you guys going to do now?" Clock inquired, crossing his arms over the large clock insignia on his chest.

That was the big question, wasn't it?

We'd already taken down Othala and Hookwolf, the Travelers stealing our target at the last second notwithstanding. Of the other Empire Capes, Rune, Victor and Purity hadn't been seen in… a while, actually. There was some speculation that they were either in hiding or maybe hit by Bakuda's bombs in the early part of the gang war.

Of course, that left the ABB with all three of their Capes. The most dangerous was Lung himself, if you thought about it on a personal level. The guy fought an Endbringer to a standstill back in Okinawa, so the thought of him showing his face was almost on the scale of bringing a nuke to a knife fight.

Bakuda was almost as dangerous, if not more on a wider scale. She was making more of her tinkertech bombs and handing them to the normal everyday goons fighting in the streets.

"I'm thinking we should take on Oni Lee but we're taking the night off to let the dust settle." I finally responded after a few seconds.

"Taking the night off with Tattletale, right?" Clock grinned at me. "I don't blame you, she's hot!"

Glory Girl looked conflicted, Gallant palmed his face and I was in shock. Then my face went nuclear. "I'm not sleeping with her!"

"Well, you're real close from what I saw in the video." He gave me a thumbs up.

I wanted to strangle him so hard, I had go force my hands to try and crush the table edge instead. "It was fake!"

"No, I'm pretty sure the recording was real."

"I meant the kiss!" I cried out, covering my face with my hands as I let out a keening groan of embarrassment. "She didn't even kiss me!"

"Oh… well, that sucks. Maybe next time, I guess."

"Clock, shut up." Gallant finally told his fellow Ward, after palming his face with a sigh.

"Well, that's a relief." Glory Girl let out a breath and relaxed a little. "I mean, I've got no problem if you swing that way but with Tattletale?"

"We're not together!" I declared, not whined, from behind my hands.

"I wasn't saying you were!" The blonde beauty held her hands up. "I'm just saying, if you were, you could do better than Tattletale."

"I'm not having this conversation!" I declared, just in time for someone to knock at the door. Any distraction was a good distraction. "Come in!"

The waitress came in and set out our food and set another round of drinks before us before exiting and leaving us to ourselves.

Of course Vicky ordered me a slice of greasy meatlover's pizza. I pulled out a few napkins and started soaking up the oils and grease as the others started eating. Tossing away the soaked napkins into a nearby bin, I started eating as well.

"So, how are the Wards handling things?" I asked between bites, trying to force the conversation away from my supposed 'love life'.

"They've had us patrolling the Boardwalk and Downtown areas." Clockblocker responded after swallowing. "We wanted to help you guys out but Piggy wouldn't let us."

"They already explained it to us, Clock. It'd be a PR nightmare if one of us got injured in the fighting." Gallant told his partner with a sigh. "I'm not happy either but we have our orders."

"Come on, man! She wouldn't even let us go after Uber and Leet!" The time based teen complained, talking angrily with a hand.

"Wait. Uber and Leet?" I broke in. I hadn't heard about them in a while, the two minor Villains going to ground after their last heist.

"Yeah, we caught them busting out of a Councilman's office and they wouldn't let us take them down!" Clock bit into his hamburger angrily.

"They were using jetpacks or something, Clock. We weren't going to catch them." Gallant tried to reason.

"They still got away!" Clockblocker sniped back in annoyance.

"What were they doing in there?" I asked.

Gallant just shrugged. "We don't know. From what we've been told, it looks like they just trashed the place. No one's reported anything was stolen yet."

"When did this happen?"

"Around the same time you and Tattletale were making out." Clock replied with a grin as I flipped him off.

I decided that when I got the chance, I'd work with Vista to pay the jokester back somehow. I didn't know how yet, but it would happen.

As for the timing, it could have been coincidence or it might not of but I couldn't tell. I wasn't a Thinker like Lisa was.

"Maybe you should spend some time watching the news instead of making it." Glory Girl joked at me, lightly punching my shoulder.

I cringed as a thought went through my head. "Yeah, the last time I sat down to watch the news, Dad and I had a fight and then I told Piggot she sucked at her job. I think I'm good." I looked to the two Wards. "Actually, I'm surprised you two haven't tried to arrest me."

The two males looked at each other in confusion. "Arrest you? What're you talking about?" Clock asked for the both of them.

I went and explained my conversation with their boss yesterday and her threat.

"We hadn't heard anything about it." Gallant stated, leaning back with a frown on his lips. "Aegis and I were patrolling yesterday, so they'd tell us to be on the lookout for you at the very least."

She still sent Assault and Battery after me, though. Actually… "Is Battery okay?"

"She's fine." Glory Girl answered me, surprisingly. "Amy healed her up but she'd lost a lot of blood, so they put her on bed rest."

"That's good… that she's okay, I mean." I replied a little distractedly. I needed to change the topic. "How's your sister doing?"

"Amy? She's working herself ragged, as usual." The blonde replied with a sigh. "It'd almost be easier to beat Alexandria in arm wrestling than it is trying to convince her she needs to sleep!"

I almost wanted to say she didn't need to work herself to death but realised how hypocritical it was. "What have you been up to, other than looking out for her?"

Glory Girl just shrugged. "Nothing much. Helping with my powers when they'll let me and watching the news, since that's all they'll put on the televisions. It's boring. Really, real-"

Twin beeping from the two Wards cut Glory Girl off, Gallant touching his ear. "Gallant here."

Glory Girl and I looked to each other as the two boys heard something that we didn't.

"Understood. We're returning to the tower." Gallant stated before letting out a sigh.

"What's going on?" Glory Girl asked as all four of us stood up.

"There's a protest or something brewing and they're pulling everyone back to deal with it." Clock replied with a shrug. "Probably keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't go crazy or something."

"Shit… I should head out too." She let out a sigh, tossing some money onto the table.

I did the same, though I didn't pull mine out of my cleavage or lack thereof. "You headed back to the hospital?"

"Yeah. With this happening, on top of everything else, it's going to be impossible to pull her away from there." Glory Girl said with some irritation. "I love her, I really do, but I'm really considering dragging her home by the collar of her costume, kicking and screaming if I have to."

"Want me to walk with you? It's not that out of the way for me."

"I was going to fly there. Maybe get her to go home before shit hits the fan." She replied with an apologetic smile.

"Ah. No problem. Good luck with that and tell her I said hi." I told her.

"Thanks and will do!" Victoria Dallon replied back to me before blowing a kiss towards the two boys. Clock feigned swooning for her but we all knew who it was really for. With that, she kicked off and flew away.

That left me with the two Wards outside Fuggly Bob's. "Welp, I guess we should head out, too." Clockblocker said, his mask fully covering his face again and looking like it wasn't made of two pieces.

"Yeah. I guess so." I replied, not really sure what to say. "Good luck."

"Thanks. You too." Gallant nodded to me, his own tinkertech mask looking like a closed knights helmet once more.

With that, we started walking in opposite directions.

oO0Oo

23 Apr - Early Evening

When I came home to an empty house, I was uneasy but forced myself not to panic. There were many reasons Dad could be out, so I shouldn't jump to Coil as the answer.

At least that's what I kept telling myself.

A quick shower and change of clothes later, the warmth and clean feeling helping me relax some, I was watching the news covering the protest.

Seemed a bunch of people had gathered up and were protesting the Protectorate and city government for their lack of response to the gang crisis. The news anchor was reading off a statement sent in by one of the organizers.

It basically blamed the government for all the deaths that the Empire-88 and ABB had caused, saying the nearly thousand dead were on their hands. Criticising the lack of PRT response and demanding they do something.

After the protest reached the PRT tower, with its blast shields closed and looking more like a fortress than an office building, the Deputy Director had addressed the crowd. Even I could tell he was sent out as a sacrifice, the crowd having none of his empty words and excuses.

It didn't become violent, though. Just a lot of yelling and chanting. Really, it just seemed like a lot of people who were fed up and wanted to vent in a simi-productive way.

The newscaster did point out that there was some vandalism on the fringes but the watching Heroes put a stop to it.

The fact that Assault could literally handcuff four vandals together within as many seconds was a showstopper and the fringe violence died down quickly after that.

That didn't stop the crowd from yelling at the red clad Hero, demanding why he wasn't doing the same thing to the gangs.

Seeing the news cycle starting over again, I muted the television and sat back with a sigh.

Hearing a vehicle door slam closed out front, I jumped from the couch and grabbed my sheathed knife, ready to draw it in an instant. As a key entered the lock, I positioned myself away from the couch, so I could move without tripping.

Then the door opened and Dad walked in to jerk to a shocked hault.

"D-dad!" The knife bounce off my foot. "Ow!"

I heard Dad snicker as I rubbed my poor foot. "Hey, kiddo."

I felt his arms wrap around me a moment later and I hugged him back. "Hey, Dad." As he broke free to close the door I actually noticed the signs on the floor he must have dropped. "What are these?"

I picked one up and read 'Protectorate Really Terrible'.

"They're signs we used at the protest." Dad replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "We didn't have much time to make good slogans, so they're kinda bad."

"You were at the protest?" The thoughts of my dad marching with the crowd didn't compute in my brain. "That's what your boss wanted you for?"

"Not quite." He said, picking up the pickets and standing them up in the coat closet. "He needed me to go over the funding and materials purchasing. After that, I helped out with the sign making until it kicked off."

"So you weren't at the protest?" I was a little confused but a little relieved.

"No, I was in it, right next to Jackson, Charlie and Mitch."

"What?!"

Dad actually laughed at me. "You make it sound like your old man hasn't done this kind of thing before. I actually met your mother at a protest."

"I thought you met Mom at college." I handed the sign over to him so he could put it away.

"Where do you think the protest was?" He grinned at me as he closed the closet door.

I shook my head at that, trying to reconcile my mom and dad at a protest. Dad just didn't look like it and Mom was… Mom. "So, what? You and Mom marched with each other and then started going out?"

Dad barked out another laugh, pulling off his glasses to wipe at his eyes. "If only! We were on opposite sides of the issue."

"What was it?" I asked, getting a curious look from Dad. "The issue, I mean."

"Oh." He sobered some as he thought about it. "I thought anyone with powers should have to register themselves and she thought it would violate their human rights." He rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "You have to remember that this was around twenty years ago. People with superpowers were scary things to think about."

"Wow." That was totally not what I was expecting.

"Anyways, we got tired of yelling at each other with everyone else and basically agreed to have our own private debate about it. I brought my points, she brought hers and when it didn't go anywhere, we decided to talk about it some more over coffee." He shrugged. "One thing let to another and then we were meeting up just because."

"'That's' how you started dating Mom?!" It was crazy!

"Pretty much." Dad affirmed with a nod and a grin.

I shook my head and let out a breath. "So, who won?"

"Won what?" He quirked an eyebrow at me.

"The debate! Who won, you or Mom?" I demanded, holding up my left and right hands to mimic the two of them.

"Oh. Well, neither of us, I suppose." Dad scratched at his cheek with a chuckle. "We just, well, let the matter drop. Confused the hell out of our friends when we stopped showing up to the protests until they caught us together at the bar."

"Okay, you can stop there. I don't need to know anymore about you dating Mom." I turned and walked into the kitchen to get a soda.

"I guess not. You seem to already be a little lady killer yourself." Dad commented causing me to choke on my drink with a sputtered coughing fit.

Turning around, I found him looking at me with a quirked eyebrow, gesturing towards the television that showed a slightly pixelated close-up of Tattletale sticking her head under my hood.

"I'm not going to judge but is there something you want to tell me?"

oO0Oo

End of Chapter - 9

oO0Oo

A/N -

This chapter was pretty difficult to write. I basically deleted and rewrote the first two sections a couple times, losing around 5k words of work due to it not working right. While this isn't perfect, I think I need to move onward and use what I have.

I basically wanted to get across the information without getting mired in the details. As this is all based off Taylor's point of view, it could go wrong really quick. Eventually, I decided to skip the rest of the conversation started at the end of the previous chapter and go with what you read here, a remembrance.

As for the 'blind to Thinkers' thing, it's not perfect by a long stretch. It's just a byproduct of constant her respawning and even then, Taylor only knows Lisa says her powers don't work on her. Even still, Lisa was able to work around that issue, so who says other Thinkers can't do the same?

They also aren't even sure if it works on Coil or not, but Tattletale is willing to take the risk and Taylor has too much to lose to not try.

Anyways, if you have any more questions or spot a plot hole I might have missed in the story so far, send me a PM. I've already responded to a few people.


End file.
